THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER 

IN    MAINE,    0[JKB]:C,    ANT)    NEW 
BRUNSWICK 


t.  V 


CAMBRIDGE 

Prtntels  at  t^t  Eiumiint  PteK» 
1894 


>X--' 


THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER 

IN    MAINE,    QUEBEC,   AND    NEW 
BRUNSWICK 


BY 

J.  W.   BAILEY 


CAMBRIDGE 

Pttnteti  at  ti)e  Ettiercittie  Preset 
1894 


Copyright,  1894, 
By.  J.  W.  BAILEY. 


5^^^7t 


CONTENTS. 


CHAFTEB 

I.  Introductory 

Comparison  with  Other  Rivers    . 
II.   The  Upper  St.  John 

The  Baker  and  Southwest  Branches 
The  Northwest  Branch  . 
Seven  Islands  and  Vicinity 
From  the  Islands  to  the  AUagash 
Big  and  Little  Black  Rivers 
Lac  de  L'Est 
Drainage  Areas   . 
The  AUagash  River 
From  AUagash  to  St.  Francis 
The  St.  Francis  River 
From  St.  Francis  to  Fort  Kent 
The  Great  Fish  River     . 
From  Fort  Kent  to  Edmundston 
The  Meruimpticook  River 
The  Madawaska  River 
From  Edmundston  to  Grand  FaUs 
The  Oroquois  River 
Green  River    . 
Quisibis  River 
Grand  River   . 
The  Grand  Falls . 
Colebrooke 
III.  The  Middle  St.  John 

From  Grand  Falls  to  Andover 

Salmon  River 

The  Aroostook  River 


PAOB 

1 

3 

7 

7 

9 

11 

12 

15 

17 

18 

18 

26 

27 

32 

33 

37 

38 

41 

50 

51 

51 

55 

55 

56 

61 

62 

62 

63 

64 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


The  Tobique  River     .... 

Statistics  ...... 

From  Andover  to  Woodstock 

The  Beccag-uimec  River 

The  Meduxnikeag  River 

From  Woodstock  to  FrediTieton     . 

Minor  Tributaries  below  AV'oodstock  . 

Eel  River         ...... 

The  Shogomoc  River  .... 

The  Pokiok  River 

The  Nackavtriek  River 

The  Keswick  River         .... 

The  Nashwaaksis  River 

Fredericton 

The  Nashwaak  River  .... 

IV.  The  Lower  St.  John       .... 

From  Fredericton  to  Gagetown  . 

The  Oromocto  River       .... 

From  Gagetown  to  Indiantown   . 

The  Drainage  Area  of  the  Jemseg  River 

The  Washademoak      .... 

The  Belleisle 

The  Kennebecasis        .... 
The  Nerepis  River          .... 
The  Tidal  Fall 

V.  Various  Features  of  the  St.  John 

Descent  of  the  River  .... 

Navigation 

Bridges  and  Ferries     .... 
Denudation  of  the  Forest 

The  Freshets 

The  Ice 

The  Fisheries  of  the  St.  John 

Insects    

The  Disputed  Territory 

In  Conclusion 

VI.  Settlement  op  the  River  Valley    . 


THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 


Of  the  many  rivers  of  Northeastern  America, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  one  which,  in  the 
diversity  of  its  natural  features,  the  facilities 
afforded  for  sportsmen,  and  the  interesting  his- 
tory of  its  colonization,  is  more  worthy  of  mention 
than  the  St.  John ;  and  yet  this  river,  viewed  in 
its  entirety,  has  never  formed  the  subject  of  any 
published  work.  Possibly  the  fact  that  the  area 
drained  by  it  lies  partly  in  the  United  States  and 
partly  in  Canada  accounts  for  this.  The  patri- 
otic Canadian  does  not  care  to  eulogize  the  vast 
wilderness  of  Northern  Maine,  which,  if  the  as- 
sertions of  provincial  geographers  are  true,  was 
unjustly  carved  out  of  New  Brunswick  by  the 
much  abused  Ashburton  Treaty.  The  American, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  not  very  eager  to  expatiate 
upon  the  natural  resoiu^ces  of  a  country  that  he 
might  prefer  to  possess  as  a  fractional  part  of  his 
own.     Be  that  as  it  may,  an  attempt  will  be  made 


THE  ST.  JOHN  RTVER. 

in  the  succeeding  pages  to  give  a  comparatively 
full  description  of  the  St.  John,  with  all  the  larger 
tributaries,  commencing  at  the  extreme  source  in 
Northwestern  Maine,  and  ending  at  St.  John  city, 
the  commercial  metropolis  of  New  Brunswick, 
where  the  river  finally  unites  its  waters  with  those 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

The  principal  difficulty  to  be  encountered  in  a 
work  of  this  kind  is  the  mass  of  detail,  and  the 
necessity   of   describing  fifty   or   more   different 
streams  in  more   or  less   similar   terms,  without  | 
omitting  facts  that  are  of  interest  to  the  tourist,  ! 
or  stating  them  in  the  monotonous  phraseology  of  I 
the   ordinary  guide-book.     Narratives  of  canoe 
voyages,   stories  of   the    camp,  exploits  of   well-  I 
known  hunters  and  fishermen,  are  but  passingly  i 
touched  upon,  the  design  being  rather  to  state,  as  | 
concisely  as   possible,  what   objects   of   interest,  i 
opportunity  for  pleasurable  "  outings,"  and  facili-  ■ 
ties  for  sport,  await  those  who  wish  to  visit  the  i 
regions  of  Maine,  Quebec,  and  New  Brunswick,  ! 
drained  by  the  St.  John,  and  ii^  more  important  \ 
tributaries.  * 

The  plan  adopted  is  to  treat  the  river,  first  as  a  ; 
whole,  and  in  comparison  with  other  rivers ;  and  ; 
then  in  detail,  by  sections,  each  section  including  j 
some  portion  of  the  main  river  worthy  of  special  i 
notice,  or  a  principal  tributary,  or  group  of  J 
smaller  ones.  Finally,  there  follow  a  few  general  ] 
remarks  on  the  action  of  ice  and  floods,  with  other  | 


INTRODUCTOHY.  6 

less  important  physical  i)lieiioiiiena,  and  a  brief 
description  of  the  fisheries. 

COMPARISON   WITH   OTHER    RIVERS. 

As  tlie  Hudson,  the  Sa^ienay,  and  the  St. 
John  present  more  natural  attractions  than  any 
other  rivers  of  correspondin<^'  size  between  the 
Atlantic  coast  and  the  central  plateau  of  the 
North  American  continent,  a  few  words  of  com- 
parison between  them  may  be  appropriate. 

The  Saguenay,  from  Chicoutimi  to  Tadousac, 
flows  through  a  caiion,  flanked  by  vast  Laurentian 
cliffs,  that  rise,  sometimes  perpendicularly  from 
the  water's  edge,  to  heights  varying  between  five 
hundred  and  two  thousand  feet.  These  mas.  Ve 
walls  of  rock  are  usually  bare  of  all  vegetation 
except  lichens  and  mosses,  but  where  the  inclina- 
tion permits,  small  spruces  and  firs  have  gained  a 
precarious  foothold.  The  scenery  is  not  pretty, 
but  decidedly  impressive.  A  few  years  ago  some 
gentlemen  from  Ottawa  entered  the  Saguenay  in 
the  night,  and  anchored  at  St.  Etien,  a  small  vil- 
lage below  Marguerite  Bay.  One  of  the  party, 
having  climbed  on  deck  while  the  cliffs  were 
bathed  in  the  weird  light  of  early  dawn,  and 
silently  observed  the  surroundings,  remarked,. 
"  This  is  gloomy,  grand,  and  peculiar."  Possibly 
no  other  sentence  could  so  aptly  describe  the 
scene. 

Forty  miles  from  Chicoutimi  the  river  expands 


4  '  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

to  form  Lake  St.  John,  a  larger  body  of  fresh 
water  than  either  the  Hudson  or  St.  John  river 
possesses.  The  lake  is  fed  by  the  Askaapmou- 
chowan,  Mistassini  and  Peribonka  rivers,  all 
great  streams,  flowing  through  the  unexplored 
wilderness  of  Northern  Quebec.  Between  the 
lake  and  Chicoutimi  the  descent  is  considerable, 
affording  plenty  of  "  rapid-shooting  "  for  ambi- 
tious canoeists. 

The  Hudson  is  the  most,  as  the  Saguenay  is 
the  least,  densely  populated  of  the  three  rivers 
under  discussion.  None  of  the  tributaries,  small 
or  large,  are  unmapped  or  unexplored  ;  and  only  | 
those  rising  in  the  Adirondacks  attract  the  sports-  ' 
man  and  lover  of  wild  life.  While  almost  as  | 
mountainous  as  the  lower  Saguenay,  the  various  I 
elevations  are  much  less  precipitous,  affording  I 
rarely  beautiful  sites  for  residences  and  summer  ] 
hotels.  Here  and  there  an  historic  fortress  may  \ 
be  seen,  perched  Rhinelike  on  some  beetling  crag,  \ 
and  near  the  water's  edge,  on  both  sides  of  the  j 
river,  many  tunnels  and  excavations  have  been  \ 
made  in  the  construction  of  the  two  great  rail-  \ 
ways  that  carry  the  bulk  of  traffic  between  "  the  \ 
Empire  City  "  and  the  West.  | 

The  St.  John  is  less  grand  than  the  Hudson,  j 
less  impressive  than  the  Saguenay,  but  excels  | 
both  in  the  diversity  of  its  natural  features.  For  | 
seventy^five  miles,  commencing  at  the  source,  it  j 
flows  through  a  great  forest,  the  home  of  the  I 


INTRODUCTORY.  5 

moose,  caribou,  deer,  bear,  and  beaver.  Then 
scattered  settlements  appear,  or  isolated  houses, 
separated  from  all  others  of  their  kind  by  wide 
expanses  of  woodland  and  rough  water.  One 
hundred  and  ten  miles  from  the  source,  these  set- 
tlen  dnts  begin  to  be  connected  by  a  continuous 
road,  and  the  valley  is  good  for  agriculture,  and 
peopled  almost  exclusively  by  the  French.  At 
Grand  Falls,  midway  between  the  source  and 
mouth,  the  character  of  the  civilization  changes, 
the  French  colonists  having  been  gradually  sup- 
planted by  others,  chiefly  of  English,  Irish,  and 
Scottish  origin. 

The  physical  features  alter  in  a  manner  quite 
equally  marked  as  the  distance  from  the  source 
increases.  Sluggish  waters  flowing  through  des- 
olate barrens,  or  lowlands  covered  with  a  dense 
growth  of  spruces  and  firs,  are  succeeded  by  miles 
of  swift  current  and  rocky  rapids.  Below  AUa- 
gash  the  stream  widens,  and  incloses  many  allu- 
vial islands  of  great  fertility.  At  the  Grand  Falls 
the  water  plunges  over  a  precipice  nearly  eighty 
feet  high,  and  careers  tumultuously  through  a 
rocky  gorge.  The  current  is  very  rapid  below 
the  falls,  and  remains  so  almost  to  Fredericton, 
while  the  hills  surrounding  the  valley  are  quite 
high,  and  generally  under  cultivation.  Between 
Fredericton  and  Belleisle  the  current  is  sluggish, 
and  the  river  broadens  and  deepens,  once  more 
inclosing  a  multitude  of  islands,  all  of   alluvial 


6  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

deposit.  Lastly  the  country  assumes  a  mountain- 
ous character,  although  the  elevations  cannot 
compare  with  those  of  the  Hudson  or  the  Sague- 
nay,  and  great  parallel  arms  or  lakes  extend  east- 
ward, offering  almost  unrivaled  facilities  for  in- 
land navigation.  It  would  be  idle  to  say  that  the 
St.  John  is  more  or  less  interesting  than  the  Hud- 
son, or  the  Hud  »on  than  the  Saguenay,  as  opinions 
vary  in  this  regard  with  the  peculiar  tastes,  or 
nativity,  of  the  persons  who  offer  them. 

Measured  from  the  St.  John  Ponds  at  the 
source  of  the  South  Branch  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy, 
the  St.  John  is  probably  four  hundred  and  forty- 
six  miles  long,  or  a  little  more  than  one  tenth  the 
length  of  the  longest  river  in  the  world,  the  Mis- 
sissippi, measured  from  the  source  of  the  Missouri 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  is  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  longer  than  the  Hudson,  and  somewhat 
more  than  half  as  long  as  the  Ehine,  while  the 
drainage  basin  has  been  computed  at  twenty-six 
thousand  square  miles,  about  one  ninetieth  that 
of  the  Amazon. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN. 
THE   BAKER   AND   SOUTHWEST   BRANCHES. 

Of  the  two  streams  which  form,  by  their  uni- 
tion,  the  St.  John  River,  one  rises  in  a  group  of 
very  small  ponds  distant  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  the  Atlantic  coast  and  eighty-two 
miles  from  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  the  other  in 
a  small  lake,  named  Lac  St.  Jean,  about  twenty 
miles  farther  westward.  The  first  of  these, 
usually  called  the  Baker,  or  South  Branch,  is 
somewhat  longer  than  the  second,  or  Boundary 
Branch ;  but  when  standing  on  the  point  at  the 
junction  of  the  two  streams,  it  is  difficult  to  deter- 
mine which  is  the  larger  in  volume,  by  reason  of 
their  close  resemblance.  Both  lie  in  an  absolutely 
unbroken  wilderness,  large  tracts  of  swampy  for- 
est land  and  low  hills  being  the  characteristic 
features  of  the  region.  As  might  be  expected, 
these  forests  abound  with  moose,  deer,  and  caribou. 
The  deer  are  rapidly  increasing  in  number,  and 
one  often  hears  them  lowing  at  night,  and  splash- 
ing about  the  marshes,  or  surprises  them  in  the 
water,  while  paddling  swiftly  and  noiselessly 
around  the  many  bends    of  the    stream.     The 


8  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

moose  are  diminishing  here,  as  elsewhere,  and 
must  eventually  share  the  fate  of  the  buffaloes  on 
the  Western  prairies. 

The  Southwest  or  Boundary  Branch  is  impor- 
tant as  forming  for  some  distance  the  Interna- 
tional Boundary,  here  dividing  the  Province  of 
Quebec  from  the  State  of  Maine,  and  there  is  a 
monument  on  it,  erected  by  the  boundary  commis- 
sioners. Sportsmen  seldom  visit  it,  there  being 
no  convenient  way  of  reaching  the  upper  waters 
except  by  ascending  the  stream.  The  Baker 
Branch,  on  the  contrary,  which  rises  in  seven  or 
eight  small  ponds  (the  latter  forming  the  real 
sources  of  the  St.  John),  may  be  quite  easily 
reached  by  a  carry  of  two  miles  from  the  North- 
east Branch  of  the  Penobscot.  The  streams 
flowing  from  these  ponds  unite  and  empty  into  St. 
John  Pond,  some  two  miles  and  one  half  long  by 
one  mile  broad.  Eighteen  miles  of  canoeable 
stream  connect  St.  John  Pond  with  Baker  Lake, 
a  rather  uninteresting  body  of  water  about  three 
miles  long,  surrounded  by  low,  thickly  wooded 
hills,  and  often  inaccurately  spoken  of  as  the 
source  of  the  St.  John  River.  Above  the  lake  a 
large  brook  enters  the  Baker  stream  from  the  west, 
a  rough  and  rocky  brook  to  navigate,  but  one  af- 
fording another  portage  to  the  Northeast  Branch 
of  the  Penobscot,  at  Abakcotnetick  Bog.  For  a 
few  miles  below  Baker  Lake  the  water  runs  over 
a  ledge-obstructed,  bowlder-strewn  bed  in  a  sue- 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  9 

cession   of  active  little  rapids ;  then   begin   the 
"  cleadwaters,"  ^  so  characteristic  of  the  region. 

The  Southwest  Branch  is  similar  to  the  Baker, 
being  rapid  for  several  miles  above  the  mouth, 
?nd  sluggish  in  its  middle  course.  The  distance 
to  the  Bay  of  Fundy  from  the  head  of  Baker 
Lake,  following  the  river,  is  four  hundred  and 
twenty-three  miles,  and  from  the  fork  of  the  two 
branches  four  hundred  and  two  miles. 

THE  NORTHWEST   BRANCH. 

The  St.  John  is  rapid  at  first  below  the  forks, 
and  then  flows  placidly  on  to  the  junction  of  the 
Northwest  Branch,  twelve  miles  below  the  Baker. 
This  branch  is  larger  than  the  others,  and  at  the 
mouth  is  very  wide  and  shallow,  and  strewn  with 
bowlders.  Eight  miles  from  the  St.  John  it 
forks,  the  principal  branch  being  called  the  Daa- 
quam,  or  Quam,  while  the  smaller  one  retains 
the  name  of  the  main  stream,  —  a  geographical 
misnomer,  quite  as  apparent,  although  hardly  as 
important,  as  the  Mississippi-Missouri  one.  Ca- 
noeists may  reach  the  Quam  by  road  from  St. 
Valier,  a   station  on  the  Intercolonial   Railway, 

^  The  writer  introduces  the  term  "  dead  water, "  as  one  of 
marked  local  significance,  and  apologizes  in  advance  for  a  fre- 
quent use  of  it.  When  a  stream  becomes  tortuous  and  deep, 
with  a  current  almost  imperceptible  in  the  summer  months,  and 
the  banks  are  low  and  covered  with  rank  marsh  grass,  or 
densely  tangled  thickets  of  alder  bushes,  the  natives  call  it  a 
"  deadwater." 


10  THE  ST.  JOHN  lUVEli. 

twenty-three  miles  east  of  Quebec  eity.  The  dis- 
tance is  forty-six  miles.  Then  twenty-two  miles 
of  down-stream  paddling  brings  them  to  the  St. 
John  River,  the  first  fourteen  miles  being  on  the 
Daaquam,  where  the  water  is  "  dead"  (technically 
speaking),  and  the  banks  richly  wooded.  Lum- 
bermen say  that  the  best  timber  cut  above  AUa- 
gash  comes  from  the  various  tributaries  of  the 
Northwest  Branch,  all  of  which,  excepting  the 
headwaters  of  a  few  small  brooks,  lie  in  a  wilder- 
ness as  yet  uninvaded  by  other  than  the  canoeist, 
hunter,  and  woodsman.  Small  trout  are  quite 
numerous  in  some  of  these  waters,  but  the  sports- 
man is  advised  to  go  elsewhere  if  fishing  is  his 
primary  object. 

Some  years  ago  the  Northwest  Branch  was 
the  scene  of  a  mournful  tragedy.  A  Frenchman, 
traveling  in  the  wood,  stepped  suddenly  upon  a 
steel  trap,  attached  by  a  chain,  in  the  usual  way, 
to  a  heavy  spruce  log,  and  covered  with  brush 
and  moss.  His  foot  was  caught,  and  vain  were 
all  attempts  to  loosen  it.  Imprisoned  in  a  track- 
less forest,  mocked  by  the  echoes  of  his  cries  for 
help,  he  met  a  lingering  death  by  famine  and 
exposure.  Bears  are  usually  caught  by  steel 
traps,  and  they  have  been  known  to  drag  the 
heavy  chains  and  logs  for  some  distance,  and 
finally  gnaw  their  captured  paws  off,  while  strug- 
gling savagely  for  freedom. 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  11 

SEVEN   ISLANDS   AND   VICINITY. 

Between  the  Northwest  Branch  and  Seven 
Ishmds,  twenty-six  miles,  the  river  is  wide,  shal- 
low, rocky,  and  rapid.  The  rapids  are  not  bad 
enough  to  worry  a  veteran  canoeist,  but  the  main 
St.  John,  and  in  fact  all  tributaries  above  Alla- 
gash,  drop  so  low  in  occasional  dry  seasons  that 
it  becomes  almost  impossible  to  navigate  them  at 
all.  Some  gentlemen  from  Boston  —  and  they 
were  veterans  too,  fearing  nothing  from  the  moose 
to  the  mosquito  —  spent  eight  days  in  wading 
and  dragging  a  canoe  from  the  St.  Valier  road  to 
the  Islands.  At  that  time,  however,  the  water 
was  exceptionally  low. 

Burntland  Brook,  which  enters  the  river  from 
the  north,  six  miles  below  the  Northwest  Branch, 
has  a  deep  pool  near  the  mouth,  where,  at  times, 
trout  of  the  first  magnitude  may  be  caught  in 
abundance.  The  Northwest  Rapid,  also,  is  re- 
puted to  be  a  good  fishing-ground. 

Seven  Islands,  the  most  remote  settlement  on 
the  St.  John,  was  founded  about  sixty-five  years 
ago,  and  named  inappropriately  from  the  presence 
of  thirteen  alluvial  islands  that  here  obstruct  the 
channel.  It  now  consists  of  half  a  dozen  large 
and  comfortable  farms,  having  no  means  of  com- 
munication with  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world 
but  by  the  river  and  a  rough  wood  road  leading 
to  St.  Pamphile,  a  small  village  of  Quebec  sit- 


12  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER, 

uated  thirty-six  miles  from  the  St.  Lawrence  at 
L' Islet.  The  road  travei'ses  the  most  aggravating 
sloughs  and  swamps,  and  travelers  who  reach  the 
Islands  that  way  generidly  prefer  to  return  by 
water.  As  a  good  portage,  thirteen  miles  in 
length,  connects  the  Currier  farm  at  The  Islands 
with  Harvey's  Depot  farm  on  the  Allagash,  the 
tourist  is  advised  to  cross  over  and  enjoy  the  su- 
perior sporting  facilities  of  that  stream. 

FROM  THE   ISLANDS   TO  THE   ALLAGASH. 

Below  Seven  Islands,  and  almost  all  the  way  to 
Allagash,  a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  the  St.  John 
is  shallower,  and  even  more  rocky  and  turbulent 
than  it  is  above  the  Islands,  and  two  rapids,  the 
most  dangerous  on  the  river,  are  found  here. 
One,  called  '•'  Big  Black  River  Rapid,"  where  the 
water  falls  for  half  a  mile  over  ledges  of  slate,  in 
a  channel  plentifully  bestrewn  with  jagged  bowl- 
ders, is  a  mile  above  Big  Black  River,  and  twenty 
miles  below  the  Islands ;  while  the  other,  called 
the  "  Big  Rapid,"  begins  about  three  miles  above 
Little  Black  River,  and  forms  a  succession  of 
small  cascades  and  frothy  pools,  aggregating 
nearly  two  miles  in  length.  Fewer  ledges  appear 
in  the  "  Big  "  than  in  the  Big  Black  River  Rapid, 
but  more  bowlders  obstruct  the  channel ;  both  are 
very  dangerous  for  other  than  the  experienced 
native  to  navigate.  In  the  spring,  when  the 
waves  are  heavy,  bateaux  are  often  swamped,  and 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  13 

occasionally  a  life  is  lost ;  yet  in  spite  of  these 
great  rapids,  and  many  smaller  on'.s,  heavy  tow 
boats,  laden  with  horses,  hay,  and  lumbermen's 
supplies,  ascend  the  river,  at  medium  water,  to 
the  Baker  Branch.  Heavy  horses,  used  to  wading 
over  the  roughest  river  bottom,  supply  the  power, 
and  the  stream-drivers,  with  ropes  and  poles, 
strive  diligently  to  keep  the  unwieldy  craft  in  the 
proper  channel. 

Navigation  is  certainly  bad,  whether  for  canoe 
or  bateau,  between  the  Northwest  Branch  and 
AUagash,  and  the  scenery  is,  as  a  rule,  monoto- 
nous, and  nowh'^re  very  picturesque.  A  few 
scattered  settlers  are  found,  principally  around 
the  mouths  of  the  Little  Black  and  Chemquassa- 
bamticook  rivers,  but  having  no  means  of  com- 
munication'with  the  outside  world,  except  by  the 
rough  river,  their  mode  of  life  is  very  primitive. 
One  man,  the  solitary  occupant  of  a  frame  house 
on  the  left  bank,  eleven  miles  from  his  next  door 
neighbor,  was,  a  few  years  ago,  forgetting  hu- 
man speech,  and  finding  it  quite  a  difficult  task 
to  think  of  words  proper  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
most  ordinary  ideas.  Above  the  Big  Kapids 
lived  a  family  of  which  no  member  had  ever  seen 
a  railway  or  a  telegraph  wire.  Some  of  the  boys 
had  never  seen  a  photograph,  or  even  an  ordinary 
highway  road.  The  mother  had  traveled  as  far 
as  Edmundston,  or  Little  Falls,  which  she  impli- 
citly believed  to  be  a  metropolis  of  colossal  pro- 


14  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

portions.  Certainly  the  education  of  the  "  Chem- 
quassabamtieookers  "  has  been  neglected  in  some 
respects,  but  they  have  a  vast  knowledge  of  wood- 
craft, canoe  -  polirg  and  stream  -  driving,  all  of 
which  sciences  are  sadly  neglected  in  our  greater 
universities. 

Canoe-poling  really  is  a  science.  The  polers 
gradually  urge  the  canoe  to  the  foot  of  the  rapid, 
where  the  water  tumbles  and  tosses  furiously 
through  narrow  channels,  separated  by  bowlders 
or  ledges  ;  and  then,  glancing  hastily  up-stream 
to  determine  which  of  these  tortuous  channels  is 
straightest  or  deepest,  they  give  a  sturdy  shove, 
and  the  bow  of  the  frail  craft  is  almost  buried  in 
the  foaming  waters.  When  the  force  of  the  first 
push  is  spent,  the  bow  is  often  out  of  water,  the 
stern  deeply  sunk  in  the  frothy  pool  below. 
Then  the  bow-poler  digs  his  pole  into  some 
crevice  between  the  rocks,  and  there  holds  it, 
trembling  with  the  mighty  force  of  the  current, 
until  the  stern  man  has  reset  his  own  pole  a  few 
feet  up  the  stream,  and  prepared  for  another  her- 
culean effort.  So  great  is  the  power  of  the  water, 
that  a  deviation  of  but  a  few  inches  from  the 
direction  of  its  flow  may  cause  the  canoe  to  be 
swung  broadside  upon  some  sharp  and  jagged 
rock.  The  Indians  consider  it  more  dangerous 
to  descend  some  of  the  longer  rapids  than  to  pole 
up,  as  in  places  where  unexpected  peculiarities 
in  the  channel   necessitate  a  sudden  change  of 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  15 

course,  the  canoe  iiiiiy  have  attained  a  momentum 
extremely  difficult  to  check. 

niG    AND   LITTLE    BLACK    RIVERS. 

The  Big  Black  River  rises  west  of  St.  Pamphile 
in  Quebec,  runs  about  forty-five  miles,  and  emp- 
ties into  the  St.  John  twenty-one  miles  below 
Seven  Islands.  The  headwaters  of  botli  the  main 
stream  and  Depot  stream,  or  })rincipid  western 
branch,  interlock  with  the  Northwest  Branch  of 
the  St.  John.  The  river  lies  almost  totally  in 
the  wilderness,  but  a  few  tributaries  traverse  the 
clearings  of  St.  Pamphile,  and  the  road  to  Seven 
Islands  crosses  the  main  stream  and  Depot 
Branch.  The  word  "depot,"  in  sylvan  dialect, 
means  a  storage  camp  where  lumbermen  resort 
for  supplies.  One  of  these  is  on  the  Depot 
Branch.  The  hunters  choose  various  places  for 
storing  provisions,  including  the  hollowed  trunks 
of  old  decayed  trees.  On  one  occasion  a  novice 
and  his  guide  were  lost,  and  the  novice  express- 
ing anxiety  about  the  meagre  food  supply,  the 
guide  jocosely  remarked :  "  I  can  kick  bread  and 
molasses  out  of  most  any  stump." 

At  average  water  the  canoeing  is  good  below 
St.  Pamphile,  and  the  principal  branches  of  Black 
River  are  also  more  or  less  navigable.  The 
Indian  name  of  the  river  is  Chimpassacoutie ;  of 
its  North  Branch,  Metawaakwamis.  Very  exten- 
sive deadwaters  occur  both  on  the  main  stream 


16  THE  ST,  JOHN  RIVER. 

and  tributaries.  The  fishing'  is  poor,  but  game 
quite  plentiful,  —  deer  especially  so. 

The  two  Black  liivers  have  been  named  from 
the  dark  color  of  their  waters  ;  a  color  i)artly 
derived,  it  seems,  from  the  numerous  deadwaters, 
where  the  soft  nmddy  banks  are  easily  eroded, 
and  nuich  vegetable  matter  settles  and  decays. 
They  are  not  the  sole  cause,  however,  as  some 
streams  are  wine-colored  from  organic  or  mineral 
impurities  above  the  deadwaters,  and  the  little 
Oroquois  River,  below  Ednmndston,  is  quite  half 
deadwater,  yet  very  clear. 

Little  Black  River,  hi^ving  the  same  general 
characteristics  as  Big  Black,  enters  the  St.  John 
three  miles  above  AUagash.  A  few  settlers  live 
at  the  mouth,  above  which  the  whole  river  basin 
is  surrounded  by  what  Thoreau  calls  "  the  grim 
untrodden  wilderness,  whose  tangled  labyrinth  of 
living,  fallen  and  decaying  trees  only  the  deer 
and  moose,  the  bear  and  wolf  can  easily  pene- 
trate." 

The  settlers  are  very  poor.  When  an  explorer 
was  about  to  throw  away  a  well-picked  ham  bone, 
the  guide  arrested  his  arm,  saying  that  he  would 
take  it  to  one  of  the  houses,  where  the  gift  would 
be  appreciated,  —  probably  as  a  suitable  ingredi- 
^  ent  for  soup. 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  17 

LAC   DE   l'EST. 

About  midway  between  Big  and  Little  Black 
rivers  the  St.  John  receives  the  Chem(|uaHsabam- 
ticook,  a  considerable  stream  flowing  from  Lac 
de  L'Est.  The  Allagash  has  a  tributary  of  the 
same  name,  the  natives  pronouncing  it  "  Se-bam- 
se-cook." 

Surrounded  as  it  is  by  lofty  forest-clad  hills, 
that  rise  quite  abruptly  from  the  water's  edge, 
Lac  de  L'Est  presents  more  attractions  than  any 
other  lake  of  the  St.  John  system  above  the  Alla- 
gash. It  teems  with  mammoth  trout,  and  the  tou- 
ladi  (^salmo  ferox)  is  equally  plentiful.  July  is 
the  best  month  for  fishing.  The  only  settlement 
is  the  little  plantation  of  the  Indian  Louis  John, 
connected  by  thirteen  miles  of  very  rough  wood 
road  with  the  French  settlements  southeast  of 
Kamouraska.  The  lake  measures  nine  miles 
in  length,  and  the  international  boundary  crosses 
it  two  miles  above  the  outlet.  Natives  say  that 
the  stream  would  be  readily  canoeable,  at  average 
water,  from  Lac  de  L'Est  to  the  St.  John,  a  dis- 
tance of  eighteen  miles,  if  the  channel  was  freed 
from  obstructions ;  but  a  reliable  explorer  says : 
"  I  have  seen  the  bed  of  the  Chemquassabamti- 
cook  perfectly  dry  in  the  latter  part  of  August." 


18  THS  ST.  JOHN  RIVER,  \ 

DRAINAGE    AREAS. 

The  total  drainage  area  of  the  St.  John,  with 
tributaries,  above  the  Allagash,  is  2,950  square  | 
miles,  of  Big  Black  River,  about  600  square  miles, 
of  the  Northwest  Branch,  about  550  square  miles,  I 
of  the  St.  John,  with  tributaries,  above  the  North- 
west Branch,  770  square  miles,  and  of  Little  Black 
Eiver,  310  square  miles. 

The   Seven    Islands   are   365    miles,   and    the 

mouth  of  the  Allagash  315  miles,  from  the  sea  at 

St.  John  city. 

■  ''       '  '     ■  ! 

THE   ALLAGASH   RIVER.  | 

The  Aroostook,  Tobique,  Jemseg,  Allagash,  and  \ 

Madawaska  are  the  five  tributaries  of  the  St.  John  j 

having  drainage  areas  over  one  thousand  square  j 

miles  in  extent.     That  of  the  Allagash  is  1,450 « 

.     .       i 
miles,  including  the  basins  of  the  two  principal 

branches,    the    Chemquassabamticook   and   Mus- 
quacook.     The  river  is  more  picturesque,  and  in| 
every  way  more  attractive  than  the  main  St.  John  I 
above  it ;  the  waters  abound  with  fish ;  the  neigh- 1 
boring  forests   with   moose,   deer,   and  caribou. 
Beaver  are  found  on  the  small  tributary  brooks, 
but  not   more   frequently   than  on  other  remote 
watercourses  in  Northern  Maine  and  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

The   source  of  the   Allagash  is  not   over  ten 
miles,  in  a  straight  line,  from  the  junction  of  the 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  19 

Southwest  and  Baker  branches  of  the  St.  John, 
and  the  river  flows  easterly  at  first,  through  Alla- 
gash  Lake  into  Chamberlain  Lake.  AUagash 
Lake  may  be  reached  by  portage  from  Poland 
Brook,  a  stream  flowing  indirectly  into  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Penobscot,  and  is  quite  large,  with 
precipitous  rocky  shores  on  the  western  side. 
Travelers  say  the  fishing  is  good  near  the  river's 
inlet.  A  courageous  canoeist  may  ascend  the  AUa- 
gash for  many  miles  above  the  lake  and  portage 
to  Lac  Yule,  the  head  of  the  Chemquassabamti- 
cook ;  but  novices  are  respectfully  advised  to  re- 
frain from  any  such  undertaking. 

From  AUagash  Lake  to  AUagash  Pond,  a  dis- 
tance of  two  or  three  miles,  the  current  is  rapid  ;* 
and  between  the  pond  and  Chamberlain  Lake 
there  are  two  falls,  many  rapids,  and  several  lit- 
tle deadwaters.  From  Mud  Pond,  which  con- 
nects with  Chamberlain  Lake  by  a  small,  sluggish 
brook,  a  well-known  portage,  two  miles  in  length, 
leads  to  the  Umbazookscus  Lake  and  Stream,  the 
latter  waters  flowing  into  the  West  Branch  of 
the  Penobscot.  Many  travelers  from  Moosehead 
Lake  pass  this  way,  the  carry  having  been  much 
improved  in  recent  years.  Thoreau,  who  crossed 
it  in  1857,  says  :  "  I  would  not  have  missed  that 
walk  for  a  good  deal.  If  you  want  an  exact  re- 
ceipt for  making  such  a  road,  take  one  part  Mud 
Pond,  and  dilute  it  with  equal  parts  of  Umba- 
zookskus  and  Apmoojenegamook  ;  then  send  a  fam« 


20  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

ily  of  musquash  through  to  locate  it,  look  after 
the  grades  and  culverts,  and  finish  it  to  their 
minds,  and  let  a  hurricane  follow  to  do  the  fen- 
eing. 

The  Fish,  Madawaska,  Jemseg,  and  Allagash 
rivers  probably  have  more  lake  surf?ice  within 
their  collective  drainage  basins,  —  if  we  exclude 
the  bays  and  fiords  of  the  lower  St.  John,  —  than 
all  other  tributaries  combined.  Over  one  hundred 
lakes  and  ponds  pay  tribute  to  the  Allagash,  and 
of  these.  Chamberlain  Lake  is  much  the  largest. 
The  famous  Chamberlain  farm,  where  supplies 
may  be  obtained,  is  the  only  settlement  to  break  the 
monotony  of  its  forest-clad  shores.  Eagle  Lake, 
sixteen  miles  long,  is  next  below  Chamberlain, 
and  next  in  size,  connecting  with  Churchill  Lake 
or  Wallagasquequam,  the  third  in  the  chain,  by 
a  still-water  thoroughfare.  Several  brooks  fall 
into  Eagle  Lake,  which  is  irregular  in  outline, 
and  very  picturesque,  inclosing  a  couple  of  large 
wooded  islands.  Pillsbury  Island  is  the  more 
southerly  of  these,  and,  almost  opposite,  Smith 
Brook  flows  in  from  the  east,  a  stream  "  canoe- 
able  "  to  its  source  in  Haymock  Lake.  Russell, 
Soper,  and  Snare  are  three  other  large  brooks  en- 
tering the  Allagash  in  Eagle  Lake ;  all  fairly  good 
trout  streams,  partially  navigable  for  canoes. 
Thoroughfare  Brook  above  Churchill  Lake  is 
also  a  considerable  stream,  much  resembling  those 
last  named. 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  21 

Below  the  outlet  of  Chamberlain  Lake,  the 
lumbermen  have,  for  many  years,  maintained  a 
dam,  by  means  of  which,  and  a  canal  connecting 
Chamberlain  and  Telos  lakes  with  Webster 
Brook,  the  most  material  part  of  the  upper  AUa- 
gash  is  turned  down  the  East  Branch  of  the  Pe- 
nobscot. Thus  we  have  the  rare  phenomenon  of 
one  stream  entering  two  rivers.  Chamberlain 
Lake  forms  the  connecting  link,  and,  in  the 
freshet  season  especially,  flows  both  east  and 
north,  like  the  Cassaquiare  in  South  America,  a 
stream  joining  the  Orinoco  River  with  the  Rio 
Negro,  a  branch  of  the  Amazon. 

The  effect  of  such  a  dam  upon  lake  scenery  is 
truly  startling.  The  sandy  beaches  disappear,  the 
waves  break  rudely  on  the  forest,  the  stately  trees, 
beaten  by  drifting  ice,  rotted  by  unnatural  sub- 
mersion, fall  prone  upor  the  water;  and  their 
weakened,  sapless  trunks  are  piled  in  much  con- 
fusion against  the  dense  green  wood  behind,  form- 
ing a  tangled  maze  of  stumps,  and  roots,  and 
branches,  on  which  the  stormy  waters  vainly 
break.  So  does  Nature  seemingly  resent  the  spoli- 
ation of  her  works  by  man. 

A  few  rods  below  Churchill  Lake  are  the  ruins 
of  another  dam,  which  once  stemmed  back  an  im- 
mense body  of  water,  and  was  erected  by  the  Yan- 
kee lumbermen  in  order  to  drive  the  St.  John 
lumber  down  the  East  Branch  of  the  Penobscot, 
via  Telos  Lake,  the  New  Brunswick  government 


22  THE  ST.  JOHN  EIVER. 

having  levied  a  duty  on  logs  cut  in  Maine,  in  al- 
leged violation  of  the  Treaty  of  1842.^  The  dam 
was  finally  destroyed  by  a  party  of  men  in  the 
employ  of  John  Glazier,  Esq.,  of  Fredericton,  and 
so  great  was  the  volume  of  water  discharged  that 
the  St.  John  Eiver  rose  three  feet  at  Grand  Falls, 
one  hundred  and  sixty-five  miles  away. 

^  Sec.  111.  Of  the  Treaty  between  the  States  and  Great 
Britain,  1842.  In  order  to  promote  the  interests  and  encourage 
the  industry  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  countries  watered  by  the 
River  St.  John's  and  its  tributaries,  whether  living  within  the 
State  of  Maine  or  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick,  it  is  agreed 
that  where,  by  the  provisions  of  the  present  treaty,  the  River  St. 
John's  is  declared  to  be  the  line  of  boundary,  the  navigation  of 
the  said  river  shall  be  free  and  open  to  both  parties,  and  shall  in 
no  way  be  obstructed  by  either ;  that  all  the  produce  of  the  for- 
est in  logs,  lumber,  timber,  boards,  staves,  or  shingles,  or  of  agri- 
culture, not  being  manufactured,  grown  on  any  of  those  parts  of 
the  State  of  Maine  watered  by  the  River  St.  John's  or  by  its  trib- 
utaries, of  which  fact  reasonable  evidence  shall,  if  required,  be 
produced,  shall  have  free  access  into  and  through  the  said  river 
audits  tributaries,  having  their  source  within  the  State  of  Maine, 
to  and  from  the  seaport  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  St.  John's,  and 
to  and  from  the  falls  of  the  said  river,  either  by  boats,  rafts,  or 
by  other  conveyance ;  that,  when  within  the  Province  of  New 
Brunswick,  the  said  produce  shall  be  dealt  with  as  if  it  were  the 
produce  of  the  said  province  ;  that,  in  like  manner,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  territory  of  the  upper  St.  John's,  determined  by  this 
treaty  to  belong  to  her  Britannic  majesty,  shall  have  free  access 
to  and  through  the  river  for  their  produce,  in  those  parts  where 
the  said  river  runs  wholly  through  the  State  of  Maine :  Provided, 
always.  That  this  agreement  shall  give  no  right  to  either  party 
to  interfere  with  any  regulations  not  inconsistent  with  the  terms 
of  the  treaty,  which  the  governments,  respectively,  of  Maine  or 
of  New  Brunswick  may  make  respecting  the  navigation  of  said 
river,  where  both  banks  thereof  shall  belong  to  the  same  party. 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  23 

For  half  a  mile  below  the  ruined  dam  there  are 
rapids,  the  worst  on  the  Allagash,  but  pigmies 
when  compared  with  those  near  Black  River  on 
the  St.  John.  In  the  very  midst  of  one  of  them, 
called  the  "  Devil's  Elbow,"  the  canoeist  must 
cross  at  a  right  angle  with  the  current,  or  be 
dashed  on  jagged  rocks,  upset,  and  wrecked. 
With  a  loaded  canoe  strong  hands  and  steady 
nerves  are  required  to  avoid  some  such  calamity, 
and  the  novice  had  better  explore  the  portage 
called  Chase's  carry. 

Churchill  Lake  is  a  delightful  expanse  of  water, 
about  six  miles  long  by  four  broad,  receiving, 
like  Eagle  Lake,  the  contributions  of  many  brooks. 
Two  of  these  brooks,  called  the  "  Twins,"  enter 
from  the  southwest,  the  North  Twin  being  the 
outlet  of  Spider  Lake,  a  dark  and  deep  water, 
swarming  with  different  fishes,  and  named  from 
its  very  irregular  shore  line.  A  small  brook 
struggles  in  at  the  head  of  Spider  Lake  through  a 
rather  grewsome  cedar  swamp,  where  a  portage 
leads  to  the  deadwater  of  the  Munsungan,  a 
branch  of  the  Aroostook.  Indians  often  passed 
this  way  in  former  days,  and  in  1887  the  writer 
observed  a  rude  picture  of  a  savage  chief,  carry- 
ing a  birch  canoe,  which  was  carved  on  a  tree 
trunk,  with  certain  signs  to  indicate  the  portage. 

A  lone  hunter  lives  on  Spider  Lake,  guarding 
a  depot  camp.  His  sole  companion  is  a  cat,  which, 
for  the  sake  of  increased  proficiency  in  keeping 


24  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

troublesome  rodents  from  the  supplies,  is  com- 
pelled to  live  on  what  it  captures  vi  et  armis. 
We  saw  it  pounce  upon  a  mouse,  and  swallow  the 
unfortunate  animal,  yet  squeaking,  with  no  more 
attempt  at  mastication  than  a  commercial  trav- 
eler makes  in  a  railway  restaurant. 

An  interesting  trip,  through  a  picturesque,  un- 
broken wilderness,  is  that  from  Spider  Lake,  via 
Pleasant  and  Harrow  lakes,  to  the  Musquacook, 
the  second  in  length  and  volume  of  the  many 
tributaries  of  the  Allagash.  The  portage  to  Pleas- 
ant Lake  is  a  mile  and  a  half  long,  and  that  from 
Pleasant  to  Harrow  Lake  a  little  over  a  mile.  All 
told  there  are  six  lakes  on  the  main  Musquacook 
stream,  the  uppermost  one.  Clear  Lake,  nestling 
at  the  base  of  Round  Mountain,  and  affording 
some  strik*T)g  scenery.  The  others  are  connected 
by  navigal  le  thoroughfares,  and  the  old  wood 
road  from  Seven  Islands  to  Allagash  passes  near 
the  outlet  of  the  first  lake,  from  which  point  it 
is  a  ten-mile  walk  to  Harvey's  Depot  farm  on  the 
Allagash.  Musquacook  stream,  below  the  lakes, 
is  usually  navigable  for  canoes. 

Long  Lake,  the  nucleus  of  the  Allagash  sys- 
tem, is,  like  Chamberlain,  Eagle,  and  Churchill 
lakes,  a  mere  fluvial  expansion.  It  is  ten  miles 
long  and  divided  by  a  narrow  thoroughfare  into 
two  parts,  caUed,  respectively.  Upper  and  Lower 
Umsaskis.  The  Chemquassabamticook  River 
(already  mentioned),  which  unites  with  the  Up- 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  25 

per  Umsaskis,  is  navigable  for  canoes  to  Lac 
Yule,  although,  for  the  most  part,  a  broad  and 
shallow  stream.  Lac  Yule  is  one  of  the  largest 
lakes  of  the  AUagash  country,  and  was  repre- 
sented on  early  maps,  when  the  region  was  little 
explored,  as  draining  into  the  St.  John  River 
above  Seven  Islands.  Both  Upper  and  Lower 
Umsaskis  are  charmingly  picturesque,  and  afford 
excellent  opportunities  for  angler  and  hunter. 
One  Harvey,  a  famous  woodsman,  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  geographical  intricacies  of 
the  region,  has  a  depot  farm  near  the  foot  of  the 
lower  lake,  where  the  traveler  may  take  the 
portage  to  Currier's  farm  at  the  Seven  Islands. 

It  is  questionable  if  a  better  river  for  the 
canoeist  can  be  found  anywhere  than  the  AUa- 
gash below  Harvey's.  Almost  everywhere  the 
current  is  swift,  and  ever  and  anon  the  water 
dashes  down  a  sand-bar,  gradually  narrowing  as 
it  descends,  until  a  myriad  of  dancing  pyramidal 
shaped  waves  are  formed  by  the  action  of  cross 
currents  and  eddies.  These  waves  have  been 
rather  oddly  termed  "hay-stacks."  The  woods 
are  rich  in  game,  more  especially  near  Petaguon- 
gomis,  or  Round  Pond,  an  oval-shaped  fluvial  ex- 
pansion three  miles  above  Musquacook. 

Above  the  Great  Fall,  fourteen  miles  from  the 
mouth,  the  water  scatters  into  many  channels, 
which  inclose  a  cluster  of  islands  very  similar  to 
the  Seven  Islands  on  the  St.  John;  and  a  few 


26  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

pioneer  settlers  live  in  this  vicinity:  The  fall  is 
almost  thirty  feet  high,  and  second  in  magnitude 
among  all  waterfalls  of  the  St.  John  River  sys- 
tem. Below,  the  stream  is  rocky,  with  many 
rapids,  of  which  those  at  Two  Brooks  are  most 
exciting,  although  not  dangerous.  The  waters 
finally  discharge  by  two  channels,  which  inclose 
Gardner's  Island  between  them. 

The  AUagash  and  St.  Francis  rivers  are  the 
only  large  tributaries  of  the  St.  John  with  well- 
formed  deltas  at  their  mouths. 

FROM  ALLAGASH  TO  ST.  FRANCIS. 

The  St.  John,  as  a  really  large  river,  com- 
mences at  the  mouth  of  the  Allagash,  the  latter 
stream  probably  having  a  volume  of  discharge 
two  thirds  as  great  as  that  of  the  former  above 
their  junction.  During  the  annual  spring  freshet 
the  St.  John  is  very  much  the  larger,  there  being 
few  lakes  to  store  flood  water  ;  but  as  it  falls  so 
low  in  the  dry  season,  there  are  undoubtedly  times 
when  the  Allagash  becomes  the  greater  river.  At 
Allagash,  too,  we  find  the  commencement  of  a 
civilization  which  increases  in  complexity,  gener- 
ally speaking,  all  the  way  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy ; 
and  at  Golden' s  farm,  four  miles  below,  the  na- 
tives enjoy  no  less  a  luxury  than  a  carriage  road. 

In  the  twelve  miles  between  Allagash  and  St. 
Francis  some  lively  rapids  appear.  Nigger  Brook, 
Cross  Rock,  Golden's  and  Rankin's  rapids  being 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  27 

most  conspicuous ;  while  a  lofty  ridge,  curiously 
serrated  along  the  summit,  and  denuded  by  forest 
fires,  rises  abruptly  on  the  north,  lending  a  very 
distinct  enchantment  to  the  view.  All  the  rapids 
are  navigable,  but,  as  the  guide  says:  ''^ Prcnez 
garde  les  grandes  rocliea,'''' 

The  Cobobscoose  or  Nigger  Brook  (the  latter 
name  was  given  because  a  negro  stream-driver 
once  found  a  watery  grave  there  ;  Cobobscoose  is 
not  the  Algonquin  word  for  "  nigger ")  enters 
near  the  rapid  of  the  same  name.  It  rises  in 
Cobobscoose  Lake,  fifteen  miles  south  of  the  St. 
John,  and  is,  at  the  mouth,  a  noisy  torrent  of  very 
clear  water,  giving  promise  of  trout  in  the  more 
quiet  turns  above. 

THE    ST.    FRANCIS    RIVER. 

The  St.  Francis  well  merits  description  as  a 
river  interesting  alike  to  all  classes  of  sportsmen. 
Eising  in  a  small  lake  of  the  same  name,  but 
twelve  miles  from  the  seacoast  east  of  Riviere  du 
Loup,  the  stream  actually  twists  across  the  water- 
shed from  the  St.  Lawrence  side.  It  is  about 
seventy-five  miles  long  and  drains  about  seven 
hundred  square  miles. 

The  old  Temiscouata  portage  (a  military  road) 
and  the  recently  constructed  Temiscouata  Valley 
Railway  cross  the  river  five  miles  below  St. 
Francis  Lake,  and  from  there  down  the  canoeing 
is  continuously  good,   excepting   a  few  natural 


28  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

dams  of  logs  and  drift  stuff,  all  in  the  first  fifteen 
miles.  In  one  place,  where  the  stream  permeates 
such  a  tangled  thicket  of  alders  that  the  branches 
and  twigs  have  knotted  in  a  common  mass  across 
the  water,  the  ^^prenez  garde  '*  of  our  infallible 
guide  is  intermingled  with  the  more  unpardonable 
exclamation,  "  Sucre  I " 

Pohenagamook,  on  the  western  shore  of  Bound- 
ary Lake,  a  village  of  two  or  three  hundred  souls, 
—  French  souls,  —  and  the  first  settlement  below 
the  railway  crossing,  is  connected  with  St.  Alex- 
andre on  the  St.  Lawrence  by  a  road  twenty-six 
miles  long.  The  lake  is  nine  miles  long,  narrow 
and  deep.  Hills  uprise  on  all  sides ;  the  alter- 
nation of  wooded  slopes  with  patches  of  cultivated 
land  and  fields  of  charred  stumps  adding  a  variety 
to  the  landscape. 

From  Boundary  Lake  to  the  mouth,  a  distance 
of  forty  miles,  the  St.  Francis  forms  the  inter- 
national boundary.  For  twenty-five  miles,  com- 
mencing at  the  lake,  Maine  is  on  the  west  side, 
and  Quebec  on  the  east ;  for  the  remainder  of  the 
distance  Maine  still  on  the  west  side,  but  New 
Brunswick  on  the  east. 

Receiving  in  Boundary  Lake  the  waters  of 
Smoke  River,  and  in  the  deadwater  below  those 
of  Sal-way-e-sip,.or  Wild  Cat  Brook,  and  yet  lower 
down  the  addition  of  Dead  Brook,  the  St.  Francis 
becomes  a  much  more  considerable  stream,  and 
glides  so  rapidly  aroimd  a  series  of  sharp  turns 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  29 

that  a  canoe  is  in  danger  of  being  slapped  against 
the  bank,  or  carried  under  overhanging  brush. 
On  a  late  journey  both  these  inisha])s  occurred. 
Below  the  round  turns  come  the  Kelly  Kapids, 
which  are  said  to  be  two  miles  long,  but  canoes 
have  descended  in  eleven  minutes,  during  high 
water,  however  long  they  are.  The  trout-fishing 
is  very  good  occasionally,  both  in  the  rapids  and 
in  the  deadwater  below  Boundary  Lake. 

Blue  River,  the  one  really  larg(3  tributary,  enters 
from  the  east,  twelve  miles  below  Pohenagainook. 
It  is  the  first  clear-water  stream  of  the  St.  John 
system  that  we  have  yet  met,  and  has  two  prin- 
cipal branches  rising  near  Notre  Dame  de  St. 
Louis  du  Ha  Ha,  a  village  on  the  Temiscouata 
road.  About  forty  miles  of  its  waters  would  be 
canoeable  but  for  numerous  "  jams  "  of  driftwood 
and  fallen  trees.  In  the  summer  of  1887  the 
East  Branch  was  so  choked  with  lumber,  prostrate 
trees,  old  roots,  and  bushes,  that  two  explorers 
were  obliged  to  abandon  their  canoe  and  outfit, 
walk  through  the  woods  to  the  forks,  and  descend 
the  main  stream  straddled  on  a  cedar  log.  On 
this  quixotic  voyage  they  were  carried  backward 
over  a  smooth  rapid,  sent  crashing  through  a  mass 
of  brush  which  overhung  the  eddying  pool  below, 
stranded  on  a  sunken  root,  and  idtimately  over- 
turned. Their  feet,  always  in  the  icy  water,  were 
scraped  on  sand-bars  over  which  the  unmanage- 
able log  passed  with  much  velocity,  and  a  lack 


30  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

of  shelter,  warmth,  and  food  achled  much  to  their 
diseonifort.  While  IMiie  Kiver  is  a  iimeh  purer 
stream  than  the  St.  Francis,  the  trout-fishinf>*  is 
greatly  inferior,  —  a  stranj^e  faet,  considering  the 
habit  of  the  trout  to  follow  the  clearest  water. 
The  region  is  an  excellent  one  for  caribou  and 
bears. 

At  the  Nadeau  farm,  three  miles  below  Blue 
Kiver,  a  good  portage,  also  of  three  miles,  leads 
to  Cabineau  Lidic. 

Beau  Lake  is  quite  what  the  name  implies,  —  a 
beautiful  sheet  of  water,  nine  miles  long  by  two 
broad,  surrounded  by  hills  and  forests  as  nearly 
virgin  as  one  is  apt  to  find  in  these  days.  Below 
the  lake  the  river  is  very  peculiar,  appearing  like 
a  great  stream  newly  turned  down  a  wooded  valley, 
no  sufficient  time  having  elapsed  for  the  wearing 
out  of  an  ordinary  river  channel.  First  we  find 
a  pond,  then  a  lively  rajnd,  then  another  pond  or 
lake.  The  water  rushes  laterally  from  Cross  Lake 
in  a  rapid  called  the  "  Mill  Privilege,"  so  close  to 
the  lake  as  to  be  easily  seen  one  third  way  out 
from  shore  ;  while  the  outlet  is  so  narrow  that  a 
canoeist  might  well  pass  by,  and  find  himself  in  a 
natural  cnl-de-sae  at  the  lower  end.  Below  the 
Mill  Privilege  come  the  winding  ledges,  with 
more  rapids,  the  stream  here  being  exactly  paral- 
lel with  the  lower  part  of  Cross  Lake,  from  which 
it  has  just  escaped.  Then  come  more  ponds,  small 
and  cup-shaped,  then  Glazier  Lake,  or  Woolas- 


3 

a 

s 

H 

o 


H 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  31 

tookpectawaagomic,  five  miles  long  and  very  pic- 
turesque ;  then  rapids  again  to  the  St.  John  River. 
The  greatest  depth  of  Beau  Lake  is  about  150 
feet ;  of  Glazier  Lake,  115  feet.  A  peculiarly 
pleasant  feature  of  St.  Francis  scenery  is  the  ap- 
proach of  forest  growth  to  the  very  water's  edge ; 
but  as  the  scenery  is  enhanced  thereby,  so  is  the 
convenience  of  beaching  canoes  diminished. 

Fall  Brook,  named  from  two  waterfalls  each 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  high,  and  flowing  from  Fall 
Brook  Lake  near  the  valley  of  Little  Black  River, 
pours  in  from  the  west,  one  mile  below  Glazier 
Lake.  A  mile  or  so  above  the  Second  Fall  begins 
the  famous  deadwater,  where  the  trout  supply, 
after  many  years  of  fishing,  has  literally  proved 
inexhaustible.  Very  few  of  the  fish  are  large,  but 
an  occasional  one  weighs  three  pounds. 

Few  canoemen  leave  the  St.  Francis  without 
regret,  as  it  is,  par  excellence,  a  river  of  pretty 
lakes  and  lively  rapids.  'The  water  supply  of  all 
these  rivers  is  largely  regulated  by  the  lake  ex- 
tent within  their  respective  areas.  The  Allagash, 
St.  Francis,  Fish,  and  Madawaska  rivers  have 
good  water  at  all  times,  while  the  St.  John,  above 
Allagash,  and  the  Aroostook,  become  very  low  in 
dry  seasons.  Green  River  and  the  Tobique  usu- 
ally have  good  water,  although  their  lake  areas 
are  comparatively  small ;  probably  because  they 
are  more  largely  fed  by  springs  than  are  the 
other  tributaries. 


32  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

FROM   ST.    FRANCIS   TO   FORT   KENT. 

Between  St.  Francis  and  Fort  Kent,  a  distance 
of  eighteen  miles,  the  St.  John  is  generally  wide 
and  shallow,  the  channel  often  splitting  to  inclose 
a  grassy  island,  fringed  with  bushes  and  stately 
elm-trees.  The  water  is  rapid,  or  "  strong "  as 
the  natives  say,  and  falls  with  extraordinary  ve- 
locity and  much  uproar  over  numerous  sand-bars. 
On  each  side  are  broad  intervales,  backed  by  hills 
of  uneven  contour.  Many  consider  this  the  most 
picturesque  portion  of  the  river.  The  interna- 
tional boundary  follows  the  thread  of  the  stream 
for  seventy-two  miles,  beginning  at  St.  Francis  ; 
the  first  road  on  the  English  side  begins  below 
St.  Francis  stream  ;  and  a  one-train-a-day  railway 
follows  the  valley  from  Edmundston.  At  St. 
Francis,  also,  the  character  of  the  colonization 
alters  greatly,  the  people  above  being  of  English 
descent,  the  people  below  almost  exclusively  of 
French. 

Among  the  French  we  find  a  very  peculiar  class 
called  "  Jumpers,"  an  unfortunate  people  afflicted 
with  an  hereditary  nervous  malady  that  causes 
them  to  do  the  most  extraordinary  things,  when 
influenced  by  unusual  excitement  resulting  from 
unexpected  sensations  of  touch  and  sound.  A 
loud  shout,  a  sudden  blow,  or  a  rifle-crack  arouses 
the  latent  trouble,  which  manifests  itself  for  but 
a  brief  interval,  leaving  its  subject  a  victim  to 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  33 

remorse  or  shame.  When  some  "  Jumpers  "  were 
taking  their  luncheon,  while  "  logging,"  and  a  by- 
stander shouted  "  Strike ! "  the  men  are  said  to 
have  thrown  their  knives  and  platters  about  most 
recklessly,  and  at  a  later  day  one  of  these  un- 
happy men  is  said  to  have  jumped  on  a  revolving 
saw  when  thus  unduly  influenced.  In  1883, 
while  ascending  the  Madawaska  River,  the  writer 
was  requested  by  his  guide,  a  self-acknowledged 
"Jumper,"  to  warn  him  before  loudly  calling  to 
people  on  the  bank,  as  otherwise  he  might  drop 
his  pole  and  overturn  the  canoe.  The  "  Jump- 
ers "  seem  to  have  originated  in  one  locality, 
which  was,  we  believe,  on  the  American  side  of 
the  boundary  line  and  above  St.  Francis. 

THE   GREAT   FISH   RIVER. 

At  Fort  Kent,  where  stands  an  old  block-house, 
a  monument  of  the  "  bloodless  "  Aroostook  War, 
Great  Fish  River  enters  the  St.  John  from  the 
south.  It  is  ninety-five  miles  long,  measuring  from 
the  source  of  the  West  Branch,  with  a  drainage 
area  of  nine  hundred  and  fifty  square  miles,  thus 
ranking  sixth  among  the  tributaries  of  the  St. 
John. 

The  East  Branch  is  a  mere  succession  of  great 
lakes,  with  thoroughfares  of  quick  water  between, 
so  little  known  a  half -century  ago  that  a  surveyor 
remarked :  "  We  are  pretty  certain  that  they  have 
never  been  explored  by  any  agent  of  the  State, 


34  THE  ST,  JOHN  RIVER. 

and  all  that  is  known  respecting  them  is  derived 
from  the  French  at  Madawaska."  Long  Lake, 
twelve  miles  in  length  by  two  in  breadth,  is  the 
head  of  the  chain,  and  attainable  by  a  portage  of 
only  five  miles  from  the  St.  John  at  Frenchville. 
Curiously  enough,  the  canoeist,  by  making  this 
short  carry,  can  paddle  down  sixty-five  miles  of 
river  and  lake  to  his  starting  point.  Such  a  cir- 
cuitous flow  of  water  forms  a  not  uncommon  geo- 
graphical feature  of  the  country,  a  similar  voyage 
being  possible  on  Madawaska  water,  as  will  be 
seen  hereafter.  Mud,  Cross,  and  Square  lakes 
are  other  expansions  of  the  East  Branch ;  Square 
probably  having  as  large  a  superficial  area  as 
Long  Lake,  although  shaped  more  compactly. 

Limestone  Point,  on  its  western  shore,  affords 
good  camping  facilities,  and  often  a  refuge  from 
flies.  When  one  has  undergone  the  torture  of 
continual  poisonous  injections,  he  appreciates  the 
relief  afforded  by  e^en  a  temporary  cessation  of 
attacks  from  those  carnivorous  outlaws,  "  les 
mouches.^^ 

The  northwestern  shore  of  Long  Lake  is  under 
cultivation,  but  Mud,  Cross,  and  Square  lakes  are 
completely  encompassed  by  those  evergreen  forests 
that  seem  to  exercise  an  influence  similar  to  that 
of  the  sea  ov*^  the  habits  and  thoughts  of  men, 
when  once  inured  to  life  within  their  dusky 
glades. 

"  What  is  most  striking  in  the  Maine  wilder- 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  85 

ness,"  says  Thoreau,  "  is  the  continuousness  of  the 
forest,  with  fewer  open  intervals  or  glades  V;han 
you  had  imagined.  Except  the  few  burnt  lands, 
the  narrow  intervals  on  the  river,  the  bare  top.^  of 
the  mountains,  and  the  lakes  and  streams,  the  for- 
est is  uninterrupted.  It  is  even  more  grim  and 
wild  than  you  had  anticipated,  —  a  damp  and  intri- 
cate wilderness,  in  the  spring  everywhere  wet  and 
miry. 

The  woods  are  most  impressive  at  night,  when 
one  reclines  on  his  somewhat  prickly  bed  of  boughs 
and  hears  the  wind  moaning  mournfully  among 
the  treetops,  while  a  deathly  stillness  prevails  be- 
neath, broken  only  by  an  occasional  crackling  of 
branches,  which  the  imagination  oft  attributes  to 
the  bear,  the  bull-moose,  or  the  restless  "  Indian 
devil."  The  Indian  devil  is  that  animal  which, 
when  seen,  is  never  believed  to  have  been  seen  by 
anybody  but  the  person  who  saw  it.  It  varies  in 
size,  shape,  and  degree  of  ferocity. 

Many  brooks  feed  the  East  Branch,  at  the 
mouths  of  which  trout  were  once  very  niunerous. 
At  present  all  the  waters  of  this  system  are  sadly 
overfished. 

Eagle  Lake,  in  which  the  branches  of  Fish 
River  unite,  is  about  fifteen  miles  long,  and  bent 
near  the  middle  at  a  right  angle.  The  landscape 
is  very  picturesque.  The  eastern  arm,  which  re- 
ceives the  East  Branch,  is  wood-surrounded ;  while 
the  northern  arm,  where  the  Fish  River  proper 


36  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

emanates,  is  thickly  settled  on  the  western  side. 
As  a  result  of  the  great  volume  of  water  poured 
in  during  the  freshets,  we  find  a  much  greater 
space  between  high  and  low  water  marks  than  on 
any  of  the  other  lakes. 

The  West  Branch  of  Fish  River,  originating  in 
Great  Fish  Lake,  a  basin  supplied  by  large  moun- 
tain brooks  that  interlock  with  the  Musquacook 
and  Machias  rivers,  is  longer  than  the  East 
Branch,  and  drains  about  four  hundred  and  ninety 
square  miles.  The  lake  is  attainable  by  canoe, 
after  "  portaging  "  by  a  small  waterfall,  and  it  is 
a  naturally  good  water  for  trout,  remote  enough 
to  prevent  overfishing.  The  stately  moose,  also, 
monarch  of  the  woods  of  Maine,  pays  frequent 
visits  there,  to  wallow  in  the  shallow  water,  and 
browse  upon  aquatic  grasses  and  buds  of  water- 
lilies.  Portage  and  Nadeau  are  the  other  West 
Branch  lakes,  the  former  seven,  the  latter  nine 
miles  long.  Birch  and  Eed  rivers,  both  navigable 
streams,  enter  Nadeau  Lake,  a  water  fringed  by 
seemingly  interminable  forests.  The  sportsman 
should  "  try  a  cast "  at  their  outlets,  as  well  as  at 
the  mouths  of  rivulets.  A  stage  road  connects 
Portage  Lake  settlement  with  Ashland,  or  "No. 
11,"  on  the  Aroostook,  crossing  the  West  Branch 
a  mile  below  Nadeau  Lake. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  streams  in  the  coun- 
try, from  the  canoeist's  point  of  view,,  is  Great 
Fish  River  below  Eagle  Lake.     The  volmne  of 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  37 

water  is  heavy,  with  an  average  depth  of  four 
feet,  and  the  rapids  almost  continuous ;  not  dan- 
gerous rapids,  nor  rocky,  but  quick  "  shoots  "  that 
arouse  a  feeling  somewhat  like  that  of  falling 
through  air.  The  surrounding  hills  are  high,  and 
afford  a  pleasing  landscape.  Unfortunately  the 
stream  is  short,  and  "  carries "  must  be  made 
around  the  falls  and  the  dam  above  Fort  Kent. 

The  natural  Fish  liiver  Fall  is  about  twenty 
feet  high,  and  beautified  by  jutting  ledges,  that 
beat  the  falling  waters  till  they  roar  with  rage 
and  seek  revenge  by  trituration. 

The  AUagash  and  Great  Fish  rivers  are  the 
only  large  affluents  of  the  St.  John  flowing  wholly 
within  the  State  of  Maine,  and  Fish  River  is  the 
first  stream,  yet  considered,  on  which  a  dam  may 
be  found,  other  than  one  constructed  by  lumber- 
men to  facilitate  stream-driving.  May  the  other 
rivers  remain  dam-less  for  numerous  generations  1 

FROM   FORT   KENT    TO    EDMUNDSTON. 

;    4 

From  Fort  Kent  to  Edmundston  (nineteen 
miles)  the  St.  John  is  a  swift-flowing  river,  con- 
taining fewer  islands  and  sand-bars  than  char- 
acterize it  immediately  below  St.  Francis.  An 
extensive  intervale  and  low  country  surround  the 
mouth  of  the  Meruimpticook,  or  Baker  Brook,  but 
the  valley  contracts  on  nearing  Edmundston. 
Fish  River  Rapid,  two  miles  from  the  fort,  is 
easy  and  pleasant  to  "  shoot,"  and   the  current 


38  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

frequently  breaks  over  rocks  lying  wholly  or  par- 
tially beneath  the  surface.  The  once  beautiful  , 
approach  to  Edmundston  is  ruined  by  the  numer- 
ous railway  cuttings.  Alas !  railways,  wherever 
found,  seem  destructive  of  natural  scenery,  and 
invariably  more  useful  than  ornamental. 

Edmundston,  or  Little  Falls,  a  cosy  village  of 
one  thousand  people,  and  the  most  central  start- 
ing point  for  the  neighboring  sporting  grounds,  is 
situated  on  both  banks  of  the  Madawaska  River, 
near  its  confluence  with  the  St.  John.     It  has  an 
upper  and   a  lower   town,  a  host  of  indifferent 
hotels,  a  very  multitude  of  whiskey  shops.     Here        I 
the  St.  Francis,  Temiscouata,  and  Canadian  Pa-        ' 
cific  railways  have  termini;  the  latter  road  fol- 
lowing the  St.  John  to  Woodstock,  one  hundred       ^ 
and  fifteen  miles  away,  and  crossing   at  Upper 
Woodstock,    Andover,  and   Grand    Falls.     Ed-        ' 
mundston  is  half  English,  half  French,  and  was 
named  after  Sir   Edmund  Head,  a  former  gov-        \ 
ernor  of  New  Brunswick.  I 

THE   MERUIMPTICOOK   RIVER.  ) 

The  Meruimpticook,  or  Baker  Brook  (drainage  \ 
area  one  hundred  and  fifty  square  miles),  pours 
its  pellucid  waters  into  the  St.  John,  with  consid- 
erable vehemence,  at  a  point  thirteen  miles  above 
Edmundston.  Meruimpticook  Lake,  the  source 
of  the  north  and  principal  branch,  calmly  reposes 
in  a  forest  wilderness  extending  from  the  depres- 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  39 

sion  of  Cabineau  Lake  to  that  of  Temiscouata. 
It  is  narrow,  but  very  deep,  and  surrounded  by 
hills  which  rise  from  the  shore  to  heights  varying 
between  one  hundred  and  fifty  and  three  hundred 
feet.  Strangely  enough,  sportsmen  seldom  visit 
this  lake,  notwithstanding  its  proximity  to  a  well- 
settled  country,  and  its  excellent  reputation  as  a 
fishing  place  and  caribou  ground.  The  natives 
call  it  "  Jerry  Lake." 

Baker  Lake,  five  miles  in  length,  which  is 
drained  by  the  west  branch  of  the  Meruimpti- 
cook,  a  short  stream  of  rapid  water,  is  well  settled 
at  the  southern  end,  and  may  be  reached  from  the 
St.  John  River,  at  Caron  Brook,  by  passing  over 
five  miles  of  tolerably  good  road.  A  portage  of 
four  miles  —  quite  famous  for  its  impassability  in 
summer  —  connects  the  north  end  of  Baker  with 
the  south  end  of  Cabineau  Lake  ;  another  connects 
Baker  and  Enoch  Baker  lakes.  Enoch  Baker  is 
a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  of  considerable  depth, 
with  high  hills  rising  on  the  western  side,  imme- 
diately from  the  water's  edge. 

The  Meruimpticook  stream  is  about  twenty-five 
miles  long,  measured  from  the  lake  of  that  name 
to  the  St.  John  River,  and  for  the  most  part  very 
rapid.  Descending,  we  find  a  small  fall  quite 
near  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  where  a  dam  has  been 
built,  and  another,  three  feet  high,  above  the 
west  branch.  Passing  the  west  branch,  we 
reach  the  Murray  Fall,  which  may  be  navigated, 


40  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

and  the  Ziae  Fall,  mucl^  the  roughest  spot  on  the 
Meruimpticook,  where  a  portage  must  be  made. 
A  few  miles  above  the  mouth,  and  in  the  low 
country,  begin  the  deadwaters,  with  all  their  cus- 
tomary features.  That  a  stream  should  meander 
a  little  in  sluggish  places  is  not  surprising,  but 
the  number  of  serpentine  turns  and  twists  in  any 
given  mile  of  one  of  these  many  deadwaters 
makes  the  weary  canoeist  despair  of  ever  reach- 
ing his  journey's  end.  Mr.  Cooney,  an  early  gcD- 
grapher  of  New  Brunswick,  and  one  meriting 
praise  for  the  animation  and  originality  of  his 
language,  describes  these  crooked  courses  as  the 
result  of  "  a  violent  collision  between  impetuous 
freshets  and  strong  lateral  resistances ;  "  but  his 
theory  is  somewhat  incorrect,  brooks  being  ever 
most  tortuous  where  they  permeate  an  easily 
eroded  alluvium  bed,  and  straightest  where  the 
currents  are  most  impetuous. 

One  large  eastern  branch  enters  the  Meruimp- 
ticook.  Who  knows  but  what  there  may  be  a 
good-sized  lake  upon  it?  The  region  is  almost 
unexplored. 

Trout  are  plentiful  between  Lake  Meruimpti- 
cook  and  the  Ziae  Fall,  some  of  them  large  and 
gamey.  Altogether  the  river  offers  numerous  at- 
tractions to  the  various  classes  of  sportsmen. 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  41 

THE   MADAWASKA   RIVER. 

Although  the  Mtulawiiska  River  is  one  hundred 
and  ten  miles  long-,  when  measured  up  the  Squa- 
took,  the  source  is  only  thirty  miles  in  a  direct 
line  from  the  mouth.  In  drainage  area  (eleven 
hundred  and  forty  square  miles)  it  ranks  fifth 
among  the  St.  John's  tributaries,  and  it  flows 
from  many  sources,  the  Squatook  being  the  long- 
est branch,  the  Touladi  the  greatest  in  volume  of 
discharge.  The  Squatook  first  runs  due  south, 
and  then  almost  north,  turning  at  a  very  acute 
angle.  Beards] ey  Brook,  which  creeps  lazily  over 
a  sandy  bed  overhung  by  projections  and  cano- 
pied by  deflectant  alders,  enters  near  this  angle, 
and  forms  a  part  of  the  well-known  portage  lead- 
ing to  the  main  Madawaska  at  a  point  fifteen 
miles  from  Edmundston.  Here,  as  on  Fish  River, 
we  may  make  a  short  carry  and  have  a  down- 
stream paddle  of  seventy-five  miles  to  our  starting 
point ;  to  add  to  which  inducement  the  Squatook 
is  a  surpassingly  attractive  stream,  having  pure, 
clear  water  (teeming  with  fish),  exciting  rapids, 
and  beautiful  lakes.  Big  Squatook  Lake  is  nine 
miles  long,  with  a  few  small  but  high  and  rocky 
islands  dotting  the  surface ;  and  from  there  to 
Sugar  Loaf  Lake  (eleven  miles)  the  water  is  al- 
most continuously  rapid,  flowing  over  a  narrow 
bed  often  arched  by  boughs.  Squatook  "  Fall," 
so  called,  is  a  mere  navigable  rapid,  but  a  canoeist 


42  THE  ST.  JOHN  niVKu. 

must  be  on  the  qui  vive  when  descending  it.  Not 
far  below,  a  natural  driftwood  dam  necessitates  a 
short  portage. 

Sugai'  Loaf  Lake,  the  third  in  the  Squatook 
chain,  is  named  after  Sugar  Loaf  Mountain,  an 
isolated  peak  of  very  curious  contour  near  the 
eastern  shore.  Near  its  centre,  directly  o])posite 
the  mountain,  appears  an  elevated  island,  famous 
as  a  camping  gi'ound,  where  the  most  picturesque 
views  can  be  obtained.  Many  trout  are  captured 
annually  off  the  mouths  of  rivulets  entering 
Sugar  Loaf  Lake,  while  other  excellent  fishing 
grounds,  in  season,  are  at  the  head  of  Big  Squa- 
took Lake,  and  in  the  rapids  above  Squatook 
Fall.  The  AUagash  is  better  for  large  game,  but 
the  Squatook,  like  Blue  River,  has  an  unenviable 
reputation  for  bears. 

Bruin  is  not  aggressive  in  his  ordinary  moods, 
but  quite  capable  of  attack  when  fairly  brought 
to  bay.  It  was  on  the  Clearwater  River  that 
some  explorers  met  a  large  she-bear  with  cubs,  at 
a  place  where  a  circuitous  rocky  gorge  cut  off  the 
beast's  retreat.  The  bear  charged  ferociously; 
but  a  labyrinth  of  fallen  trees  and  shrubbery  con- 
siderably impeding  her  progress,  the  explorers 
were  enabled  to  escape.  The  imperturbability  of 
the  guide  on  that  occasion  deserves  notice.  He 
looked  incredulous  at  first,  as  if  wondering  at  the 
animal's  audacity  in  attacking  so  old  and  tried  a 
hunter,  and  then  remarked  reproachfully,  "  Well, 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  43 

seein'  as  this  is  tho  first  time  we  Ve  met,  you 
niiikos  yourself  (liirii  familiar."  ' 

Twenty-five  miles  below  Beardsley  Brook  port- 
age the  Squatook  and  Touladi  rivers  unite,  and 
half  a  mile  above  this  fork  the  pjaj^le  and  llorton 
branches  unite  to  form  the  Touladi.  How  curi- 
ously some  rivers  bunch  together  !  The  Nictaux 
or  Forks  of  the  Tobique  afford  a  yet  n)ore  striking 
illustration  of  the  same  phenomenon. 

The  branches  present  a  marked  contrast.  The 
llorton  Branch  is  very  clear  and  rapid,  the  Eagle 
Branch  vei-y  dark  and  sluggish.  In  the  deep  pool 
where  they  meet,  a  fish,  distinctly  seen  when 
swimming  in  the  Horton  water,  disappears  from 
view  at  once  on  entering  the  Eagle  Branch.  The 
Horton  Branch  and  Green  River  have  interlock- 
ing sources  ;  but  it  would  be  exceedingly  difficult, 
perhaps  impossible,  to  carry  a  canoe  across  the 
common  watershed,  and  the  former  stream  faFs  so 
quickly  after  a  rain  that  the  canoeist  wishing  to 
ascend  must  choose  his  time  rather  carefully.  It 
widens  at  one  part  to  form  Lac  des  Outres,  below 
which  there  is  a  gorge  containing  one  fall  from 
six  to  ten  feet  high,  with  small  cascades  below, 
a  portage  of  half  a  mile  leading  from  the  fall  to 
the  deadwater  below  the  lake.  The  Big  Jam, 
a  stupendous  obstruction,  famous  throughout  the 
country,  is  one  mile  from  the  mouth.  An  extreme 
crookedness  in  the  channel,  with  a  comparatively 
straight  course  above,  probably  fostered  its  for- 


44  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

mation  by  allowing  large  quantities  of  driftwood 
and  logs  to  accumulate  freely ;  but,  however  that 
may  be,  the  Jam  is  now  a  mile  long,  and  ever 
increasing.  It  is  full  of  holes,  through  which  is 
seen  the  gurgling  stream  beneath,  and  swarms 
with  trout.  Unfortunately  the  angler  is  apt  to 
lose  his  tackle  in  the  complex  fabric  of  logs,  roots, 
and  branches  on  trying  to  fish  there.  The  lum- 
bermen have  excavated  a  flood  channel  for  run- 
ning logs  around. 

The  Horton  Branch  is  the  first  in  a  belt  of 
clear-water  rivers  that  extends,  we  believe,  to  the 
eastern  extremity  of  Gaspe  Peninsula,  and  in- 
cludes such  famous  streams  as  the  Restigouche, 
Tobique,  and  Nepisiguit,  with  the  larger  tributa- 
ries of  the  Miramichi.  It  is  a  good  trout  stream, 
although  deep  pools  are  scarce. 

The  Eagle  Branch,  flowing  from  Lac  des  Islets, 
near  the  upper  waters  of  the  Trois  Pistoles  River, 
is  tortuous,  narrow,  and  deep,  arched  by  inter- 
locking branches,  and  kissed  by  dangling  bushes. 
The  current  flows  swiftly,  eddying  around  the  rich 
alluvial  banks  unbroken  by  a  single  rapid.  Eagle 
Lake,  eight  miles  above  the  Touladi  forks,  is 
shallow,  with  low,  flat  shores,  where  rushes  and 
water-lilies  grow  profusely,  and  extend  far  out 
into  the  water.  A  point  on  the  southern  shore, 
opposite  the  inlet,  was  a  favorite  camping-place 
with  the  Indians,  when  accustomed  to  pass  by  this 
route   to  the   St.    Lawrence.     Lac   des  Islets,  a 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  45 

shallow  water,  named  from  the  number  of  small 
islands  formed  by  bowlders  and  angular  blocks  of 
hard  sandstone,  may  be  reached  by  two  portages 
from  the  St,  Lawrence  side  of  the  watershed.  The 
outlet,  called  "  Riviere  St.  Jean,"  is  small,  and  for 
some  distance  below  the  lake  very  tortuous,  and 
overhung  by  alders  and  leaning  bushes.  Then 
the  stream  spreads,  becoming  shallow.  Numerous 
"drift  jams"  occur;  and  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
Lac  des  Aigles  there  is  a  fall  of  about  six  feet, 
with  rough  rapids  above,  extending  half  a  mile. 
The  water  flows  peaceably  between  the  fall  and 
lake. 

Touladi  River  proper  is  sluggish  and  very  deep 
for  eight  miles  below  the  forks,  and  then  it  expands 
to  form  the  Second  and  First  Touladi  lakes,  both 
shallow  and  uninteresting.  Rapids  begin  below 
the  first  lake,  and  culminate  in  the  Touladi  Fall, 
a  rough  descent  over  transverse  ledges,  where 
the  unwary  canoeist  sometimes  finds  himself  in 
gurgite  vasto,  together  with  his  camp  supplies. 
Such  was  the  experience  of  two  Fredericton  college 
students  a  few  years  ago.  The  great  pool  below 
the  fall,  and  the  water-worn  depressions  in  the 
ledges  above,  are  excellent  places  for  trout-fishing 
in  July,  and  the  angler  may  capture  a  five-pound 
fish  there,  if  the  fates  are  propitious.  Later  in 
the  season  the  big  trout  repair  to  the  Madawaska 
River,  where  the  sluggish  current  and  soft  grassy 
bottom   afford  an  exceptionally   good  spawning 


46  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

ground.  The  Touladi  River  finally  discharges 
into  Temiscouata  Lake,  after  draining  five  hundred 
and  sixty  square  miles,  and  it  is  the  largest  river 
in  the  St.  John  system  having  no  settlement  above 
its  outlet. 

Temiscouata  (winding  water)  is  the  deepest 
lake  in  any  way  connected  with  the  St.  John,  and 
fully  nine  times  as  deep  as  Grand  Lake  on  the 
Jemseg,  its  only  rival  in  superficial  area.  It  is 
twenty-eight  miles  long  by  two  in  average  width. 
The  bottom  is  almost  level  at  a  mean  depth  of  . 
about  two  hundred  feet,  throughcut  the  lower  and 
central  portions,  the  water  deepening  very  quickly 
on  leaving  the  shore.  The  northern  arm  is  shal- 
lower. It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  Temiscouata 
Lake,  as  well  as  the  Madawaska  and  Ashberish 
rivers,  lie  in  an  almost  direct  line  with  the  famous 
Saguenay  gorge,  but  fifty  miles  distant. 

Trout  and  touladi  of  all  sizes  abound  in  Temis- 
couata, and  are  commonly  captured  with  trolling 
hooks.  The  mouth  of  Mill  Brook,  four  miles  from 
Detour  du  Lac,  is  probably  the  best  place  for  fly- 
fishing. 

Numerous  settlements  skirt  the  western  side ; 
on  the  east  we  find  a  few  isolated  houses  uncon- 
nected with  any  road.  Notre  Dame  de  Detour 
du  Lac,  a  French  village  charmingly  situated  on 
the  hill  slope  midway  down  the  lake,  is,  like  Ed- 
mundston,  a  rendezvous  for  sportsmen.  The 
Temiscouata  Railway  follows  the  shore  for  fifteen 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  47 

miles,  disfiguring  the  otherwise  beautiful  scenery 
with  myriads  of  embankments  and  rock-cuttings. 
The  "  Chemin  Temiscouata,"  an  old  military  road, 
by  which  the  distance  to  Riviere  du  Loup  is  forty 
miles,  strikes  away  from  the  lake  above  Cabineau, 
and  near  Fort  Ingalls,  a  collection  of  very  ruinous 
barracks  and  guard-houses.  Immediately  oppo- 
site. Big  Mountain  uprears  its  shaggy  wooded 
crest,  and  tradition  says  that  soldiers  of  the  garri- 
son sometimes  swam  across  the  intervening  water 
to  alleviate  the  ennui  of  frontier  life. 

Cabineau  River  is  forty-one  miles  long  from 
the  southern  end  of  Cabineau  Lake,  and  drains  an 
area  of  one  hundred  and  ten  square  miles.  The 
lake,  which  occupies  the  depression  between 
Meruimpticook  and  St.  Francis,  a  famous  region 
for  caribou-hunting,  is  thirteen  miles  long,  with  a 
width  of  one  mile  and  less,  very  irregular  in 
shape,  and  dotted  with  islands.  No  other  lake  in 
the  vicinity  has  water  so  pure  and  transparent, 
though  we  have  here  a  group  of  clear  waters,  in- 
cluding the  Baker  Brook  and  Blue  River.  Cabi- 
neau River  flows  through  a  marshy  swale  for  six 
miles  below  the  lake,  where  innumerable  sharply 
pointed  cedar  "sprigs  extend  over  the  water,  and  it 
is  easily  navigable  for  canoes,  excepting  a  fall 
about  twenty  feet  high,  six  miles  from  Temiscouata. 
Above  the  fall  there  are  extensive  deadwaters, 
where,  five  years  ago,  six  or  seven  natural  drift- 
wood dams  had  formed.     The  lumbermen  cleared 


48  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

these  dams  away,  together  with  numerous  beaver 
works.  The  Cabineau  trout  are  small,  but  the 
valley  affords  an  excellent  hunting  ground  for 
deer  and  caribou. 

The  fallow  deer,  common  as  they  are  to-day, 
were  never  seen  in  New  Brunswick  before  the 
year  1818,  at  which  date  also  wolves  first  ap- 
peared. As  the  deer  rapidly  increased  in  nmn- 
bers  the  wolves  thrived  admirably,  never  hesitat- 
ing to  devour  some  domestic  animal  wiicii  weary 
of  a  venison  diet.  While  visiting  Eel  Riv^r  Lake 
in  1842,  Dr.  Gcsner  observed  the  remains  of 
three  deer  and  a  caribou  that  had  been  dragged 
upon  the  ice  and  devoured,  a  pack  of  eleven 
wolves  crossing  the  lake  during  his  visit.  "  The 
bowlings  of  these  anmials  around  my  camp  at 
night,"  he  says,  "  were  truly  terrific."  When  in 
subsequent  years  the  number  of  deer  diminished, 
the  wolves  gradually  disappeared  as  well,  finally 
becoming  extinct;  and,  now  that  the  deer  are 
rapidly  increasing  once  more,  an  occasional  wolf- 
howl  again  breaks  the  sylvan  quietude.  It  is  a 
most  remarkable  synchronism,  best  accounted  for 
on  the  hypothesis  that  the  wolves  north  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  when  famished,  cross  the  ice  for 
plunder. 

The  Ashberish  River,  by  which  the  Indians 
formerly  crossed  from  Madawaska  to  the  Trois 
Pistoles,  enters  the  northern  end  of  Temiscouata. 
It  has   a  picturesque  fall  six   miles   above  the 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  49 

mouth,  and  from  there  down  is  very  tortuous  and 
deep,  although  quite  rapid  in  places. 

The  Madawaska  River  proper,  twenty  -  two 
miles  long  when  measured  fi'om  Temiscouata 
Lake  to  Edmundston,  has  almost  everywhere  an 
even  width  and  depth,  a  peaceful  current,  and  a 
grassy  bottom.  Its  valley  is  thickly  settled,  the 
natives  spearing  the  large  trout  by  the  barrelful 
when  they  descend  the  river  to  spawn  in  August. 
For  two  miles  below  the  lake,  people  say  the  Mad- 
awaska never  freezes  in  the  coldest  weather,  the 
village  at  Pole  River  being  named  Degele  after 
this  circumstance.  Such  a  condition  might  be 
caused  by  the  deeper  Temiscouata  waters  circu- 
lating upwards  by  the  suction  of  the  river,  and 
then  taking  some  time  to  cool  after  exposure  to 
the  air.  The  old  Canada  line  crosses  the  val- 
ley twelve  miles  from  Edmundston,  and  here  the 
Bossers  live,  mighty  polers,  and  foremost  among 
Squatook  guides.  Trout  River  is  a  considerable 
stream  of  clear  water,  entering  from  the  west. 
Near  the  mouth  the  customary  placidity  of  the 
Madawaska  is  broken  by  a  few  rapids,  the  Little 
Falls,  from  which  the  town  of  Edmundston  de- 
rived its  ancient  name,  being  much  the  roughest. 
A  dam  has  been  constructed  above  with  materials 
ruthlessly  torn  from  an  old  stone  fort  on  the  hill- 
side. Canoes  descend  the  Little  Falls  occasion- 
ally, although  the  "  shoot "  is  rather  too  lively  for 
most  people  who  travel  this  way. 


50         THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

FROM  EDMUNDSTON  TO  GRAND  FALLS. 

Below  Etlmundston  the  physical  features  of  the 
St.  John  change  perceptibly.  Although  for  five 
miles,  or  down  to  St.  Basil,  the  river  incloses 
islands,  and  spreads  on  bars,  the  channel  soon  con- 
tracts, becoming  deeper  and  more  sluggish.  The 
glacial  action  which  created  the  Grand  Falls  has 
in  fact  stemmed  the  water  for  twelve  miles,  or  as 
far  as  Vanburen  Village,  on  the  American  bank, 
the  depth  varying  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet,  a 
greater  average  than  is  found  elsewhere  above 
Fredericton.  Green  and  Quisibis  rivers  work  out 
through  extensive  clay  beds,  in  which  fossil  trees 
have  been  found.  The  valley,  generally  speaking, 
is  fertile.  The  merry  Frenchman  seldom  over- 
works to  earn  his  daily  pork  and  vegetables,  yet 
the  soft  notes  of  his  violin,  wafted  by  an  evening 
breeze,  and  the  distant  tread  of  dancers,  are  sooth- 
ing to  the  weary  canoeman,  if  not  conducive  to  the 
material  prosperity  of  Madawaska  County. 

Some  of  these  festivities  (among  the  lower 
classes)  are  extremely  hilarious,  lasting  uninter- 
ruptedly for  two  nights  and  a  day.  The  male 
French  often  dance  with  clay  pipes  in  their 
mouths,  and  both  arms  around  the  female.  It  is 
usually  considered  bad  taste  for  any  one  dancer  to 
monopolize  the  floor,  and  the  offender  is  occasion- 
ally ejected  from  the  ball-room,  his  exit  accelera- 
ted by  a  vigorous  application  of  pedal  extremities 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  fi| 

on  the  part  of  jealous  ones  unable  to  dance  as 
well.     This  is  termed  "  socking  the  boots." 

Little  River,  a  stream  with  many  branches, 
enters  the  St.  John  at  the  very  brink  of  Grand 
Falls,  pouring'  at  low  water  into  a  funnel-shaped 
hole  or  passageway,  and  spouting  forth  into  the 
princij^al  fall  half  way  down  the  cliff. 

THE   OROQUOIS   RIVER. 

Two  miles  below  Edmundston  the  little  Oroquois 
River  unites  with  the  St.  John,  a  stream  flowing 
parallel  with  'the  Madawaska,  and  never  far  dis- 
tant therefrom.  It  is  easy  to  navigate  as  far  as 
the  fall,  fifteen  miles  from  the  mouth,  and  prob- 
ably above  the  fall  for  some  distance.  On  it  we 
find  much  deadwater,  very  pure  and  transparent, 
however,  and  swarming  with  small  trout.  Large 
fish  are  seldom  or  never  caught  there.  The  fall  is 
about  twelve  feet  high,  and  operates  a  mill,  which 
is  connected  by  road  with  the  Madawaska  River. 

GREEN   RIVER. 

No  tributary  of  the  St.  John  rivals  Green  River 
in  general  attractiveness,  unless  perhaps  the  To- 
bique.  The  popular  impression  that  it  is  one  long, 
tumultuous  rapid  from  source  to  mouth  is  untrue  ; 
for  in  one  place  at  least,  above  the  old  Albert 
farm,  the  current  runs  most  innocently  for  more 
than  a  mile.  Considered  as  a  whole.  Green  River 
is  undoubtedly  more  rapid  than  any  other  tribu- 


62  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

tary,  and  one  poler  a  barely  sufficient  motive- 
power  for  a  canoe,  unless  the  day's  journey  be 
made  short.  Some  of  the  rapids  are  straight, 
others  are  on  bends  of  the  stream  called  "  round 
turns."  The  most  expeditious  way  of  ascending 
is  by  fastening  two  canoes  side  by  side,  but  some- 
what ajjart,  with  poles,  and  procuring  a  strong, 
sure-footed  horse  to  drag  by  a  tow-line. 

Although  the  drainage  area  is  less  than  five 
hundred  square  miles,  and  the  length  but  seventy- 
five  miles,  a  sufficiency  of  water  for  canoeing  may 
be  found  at  all  times,  partly  because  the  channel 
is  narrow,  and  partly  because  the  valley  contains 
an  astonishing  number  of  rivulets  that  never  dry 
up  in  summer. 

About  twenty  miles  from  the  source  the  fourth 
branch,  or  Pimouet,  enters  from  the  east,  —  a 
stream  connected  by  a  difficult  portage  of  seven 
miles  with  the  Quatawamkedgwick,  the  principal 
water  of  the  Restigouche. 

In  the  twenty  miles  between  the  fourth  and 
second  branches  Green  River  is  swift  and  shal- 
low, with  occasional  good  pools  above  ledges,  in 
which  the  trout  are  exceptionally  lively,  and  very 
beautiful  in  shape  and  markings.  Here  is  the 
best  fishing,  and  huge  trout  may  be  seen  swim- 
ming in  and  out  among  the  sunken  roots  far 
down  in  the  transparent  water.  Green  River  ex- 
cels all  other  St.  John  waters  for  trout,  although 
the  mammoth  "  five-pounder  "  is  not  as  common  as 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN,  53 

in  the  few  great  lakes,  like  Teiniscoiiata ;  and  it 
is  the  only  tributary  leased  by  the  Provincial  gov- 
ernment for  trout-fishing  alone.  At  the  Black 
Fall,  one  mile  above  the  second  fork,  where  the 
water  tumbles  down  a  natural  sluiceway,  necessi- 
tating a  carry,  a  short  portage  leads  to  the  first 
Green  River  lake. 

There  are,  all  told,  six  lakes  upon  the  sec- 
ond fork,  or  Lake  Branch,  which  drains  a  valley 
parallel  with  the  upper  Squatook.  The  first  is 
nearly  surrounded  by  hills,  long,  narrow,  and 
shallow,  and  the  water  has  a  fall  of  eight  feet  a 
little  below  its  outlet.  Between  the  first  and 
second  lakes  the  stream  flows  principally  through 
a  spruce  and  cedar  swamp,  and  is  without  bad 
rapids,  if  we  except  a  small  fall  three  quarters 
of  the  way  up.  Second  or  Mud  Lake,  which 
is  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  long,  is  bounded 
westerly  by  a  lofty  ridge,  while  on  the  east  the 
water  is  shallow,  muddy,  and  swampy.  The 
third  and  fourth  lakes  are  larger  and  deeper, 
and  surrounded  by  rising  gi'ound.  The  fifth 
and  sixth  lakes,  five  miles  beyond,  lie  close  to- 
gether ;  the  former  being  very  shallow,  with  a 
soft  bottom  of  white  mud,  which  the  men  call 
"  paint,"  from  its  quality  of  sticking  to  the  canoe 
poles,  like  white  lead.  High  hills  are  seen  to 
the  northwestward,  from  the  tops  of  which  the 
gi4  des  say  they  can  overlook  Squatook  Lake. 
Below  the  third  lake  there  are  three  small  water' 
falls,  each  three  or  four  feet  high. 


64  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

The  first  fork,  or  cast  branch  of  Green  River, 
which  has  one  hirge  fall,  so  the  guides 'say, 
enters  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the  mouth, 
and  no  settlements  are  found  above  it,  either  on 
main  stream  or  tributary.  For  that  matter,  a 
forest  almost  primeval  extends  northward  to  the 
St.  Lawrence  valley,  and  eastward  to  the  lower 
Restig'ouche,  affording  ample  facilities  for  the 
enjoyment  of  Nature  in  her  most  unadulterated 
form. 

The  Albert  farm,  easily  attained  by  a  portage 
of  nine  miles  from  St.  Basil  village  on  the  St. 
John,  is  situated  in  one  of  the  most  picturesque  of 
valleys,  but  the  Albert  family,  unfortunately,  once 
the  most  experienced  Green  River  guides,  are  sit- 
uated in  the  Western  States.  Within  the  thirteen 
miles  below  the  farm  the  valley  is  well  settled, 
and  excellent  views  of  Green  River  Mountain,  an 
obtuse  peak,  beautifully  forest-clad,  may  be  ob- 
tained from  the  water.  We  find  heavy  water- 
falls five  miles  above  the  farm,  and  one  and  one 
half  miles  from  the  St.  John  River,  where  small 
milling  operations  are  carried  on. 

Along  the  middle  portion  of  Green  River  high 
hills  inclose  the  valley,  and,  by  lifting  their  ver- 
dant tree-clad  slopes  abruptly  from  the  water, 
afford  most  attractive  scenery.  Natives  and 
travelers  familiar  with  the  stream  assert  that  the 
water  is  colored  by  a  natural  green  pigment ;  but 
the  writer  strongly  suspects  that  the  green  pig- 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  55 

mcnt  of  Green  River,  the  blue  pif^ment  of  Blue 
liiver,  and  the  no  pigment  Jit  all  of  the  Tobitpie 
are  varieties  of  the  same  thing,  namely  a  lively 
imagination  aroused  by  certain  delusive  optical 
phenomena.  That  the  water  is  doliciously  clear 
and  cool  everybody  nmst  agree. 

QUISIBIS    RIVER. 

The  Quisibis  River  rises  in  two  streams,  which 
unite  thirteen  miles  from  the  St.  John,  and  have 
their  sources  near  the  valley  of  the  junction 
stream,  a  tributary  of  Green  River's  eastern 
branch  ;  drains  one  hundred  and  twenty  square 
miles ;  and  may  be  canoed  with  ease  below  the 
forks,  where  it  is  largely  deadwater.  Its  upper 
valley  is  said  to  be  the  coldest  place  in  the  coun- 
try ;  but  if  it  is  so,  the  reason  is  decidedly  obscure. 
The  branches  are  practically  "  uncanoeable,"  and 
each  has  a  fall,  so  the  natives  say. 

GRAND   RIVER. 

Grand  River,  a  swift  and  shallow  stream,  but 
one  easily  navigable  by  canoe  to  the  Waagan 
Brook,  eighteen  miles  from  the  mouth,  enters  the 
St.  John  from  the  east,  thirteen  miles  above  Grand 
Falls,  and  drains  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
square  miles.  A  light  birch  might  be  poled  much 
beyond  the  Waagan,  should  a  sufficient  reason 
for  so  doing  be  found.  The  water  is  compara- 
tively impure,  the  fishing  bad,  and   the  stream 


56  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

unimportant,  except  for  the  fact  that  the  Waagan 
and  Waagansis  Brooks,  often  called  the  Kesti- 
gouche  and  Grand  River  Waagans,  afford  a  ready 
means  of  reaeliing  the  u})i)er  waters  of  the  Kesti- 
gouche.  The  **■  carry  "  over  this  watershed,  and 
the  "  carries  "  between  the  Umbazookscus  and 
Mud  Pond  on  the  Allagash,  and  between  the 
Nictaux  and  Nepisiguit  lakes,  are  the  three  most 
famous  modern  i)ortages  connecting  with  the  St. 
John  or  its  tributaries. 

THE   GK  iND    FALLS. 

Every  traveler  should  visit  the  Grand  Falls. 
As  the  water  in  its  mad  career,  although  ever 
the  same  in  a  general  way,  momentarily  changes 
as  regards  the  minor  movements,  and  as  the  chief 
beauty  of  the  scene  depends  upon  that  constant 
change,  no  photograj)h  can  represent  nor  pen  de- 
scribe it.  The  main  fall  is  almost  perpendicular, 
and  wider  at  the  top  than  at  the  base.  The  prin- 
cipal part  of  the  river  flows  in  a  black  and  oily- 
looking  mass  through  a  depression  near  the  centre, 
and  immediately  beneath  a  huge  fragment  ap- 
pears, called  the  Split  Rock,  upon  which  the  wa- 
ters thunder  unceasingly,  and  rebound  with  more 
than  doubled  fury.  A  column  of  spray  ever  rises 
from  this  part  of  the  fall,  completely  obscuring  the 
Split  Rock  at  moderately  high  water ;  and  when 
the  sun's  rays  fall  upon  it,  a  gorgeous  rainbow 
floats  in  mid-air,  waving  its  many  colors  over  the 


THE   UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  57 

sombre  rocks  iiiiil  f()aniln<j;  eddies  Distinct  lunar 
rainbows  are  often  seen.  It  is  not  so  nuich  the 
splendor,  the  speed  and  energy  of  the  Grand  Falls 
that  impress  one,  as  it  is  the  incessancy  of  the 
dis])lay.  For  how  many  ages,  we  wonder,  prior  to 
man's  advent  on  earth,  did  tliis  vast  torrent  of 
tumultuons  water  thunder  down  the  cliii'  ? 

On  the  right-hand  side  the  stream  comes  over 
the  brink  in  a  curtain,  which,  at  average  water, 
is  about  a  foot  in  thickness  ;  and  on  the  extreme 
right  it  falls  into  a  crevice  at  the  base  of  a  jutting 
crag,  the  latter  facing  the  fall.  The  water  is  col- 
lected in  this  crevice  and  thrown  sideways,  other 
waters  falling  on  top  ;  and  when  a  lot  of  spruce 
logs,  passing  down  the  side  pitch,  runs  foul  of  an- 
other lot  coming  straight  over,  the  spectacle  is 
inspiring. 

On  the  left  a  man  may  climb  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  and  there  obtain,  if  not  too  badly 
spray-drenched,  a  splendid  view  of  the  Split  Rock. 
In  seasons  of  extreme  drought  the  river  is  said  to 
contract  until  the  flow  is  almost  entirely  within 
the  depression  above  this  rock,  already  referred  to. 

A  winding  gorge  about  one  mile  long,  the  sides 
of  which  are  generally  perpendicular,  and  from 
eighty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height,  has 
been  formed  by  the  erosive  action  and  recession 
of  the  fall.  The  rocks  are  calcareous  slates  of 
the  Upper  Silurian  age,  with  strata  so  curiously 
twisted  and  irregularly  worn  that  one  may  climb 


58  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

everywhere  with  a  firm,  safe  foothold.  Immedi- 
ately below  the  fall  the  gorge  is  quite  wide,  that 
is,  as  wide  as  the  fall,  but  it  narrows  gradually  to 
a  point  where  a  suspension  bridge  crosses,  then 
widens  again,  and  finally  becomes  narrower  than 
ever  at  the  lower  end,  and  continues  all  the  while 
to  deepen  as  the  distance  from  the  fall  increases. 
In  several  places  steep  ravines  afford  access  to  the 
bottom,  where  there  are  rapids  of  such  a  wild 
order  that  any  attempt  at  navigation  would  prove 
fatal,  and  opposite  Pul^Dit  Rock  a  stairway  has 
been  constructed.  The  cliffs  are  everywhere 
crowned  by  a  thick  growth  of  young  spruce-trees. 
Pulpit  Rock  is  a  colossal  mass  overhanging  the 
abyss,  where  the  St.  John  is  narrower  than  it  is 
anywhere  else  between  the  confluence  of  the  Baker 
and  Southwest  branches  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 
The  exact  width  cannot  easily  be  measured,  for 
the  rapid  below  is  the  wildest  in  the  gorge.  The 
whole  river  seems  to  throw  itself  in  one  seething 
and  spouting  mass  over  some  hidden  obstruction, 
which  is  probably  a  many-ton  mass  of  rock  that 
has  fallen  away  from  the  cliff,  thereby  creating 
Pidpit  Rock  as  we  now  see  it.  A  rocky  prom- 
ontory, perforated  with  water-worn  wells,  extends 
from  the  stairway  to  the  rapid.  "The  Great 
Well "  is  about  thirty  feet  deep,  with  a  diameter 
of  sixteen  feet  at  the  top,  widening  at  the  bottom. 
Many  others  are  scattered  over  the  rocks,  some 
large,  some  small,  and  nearly  all  on  this  promon- 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOHN.  69 

tory.  As  it  is  oiily  dui'ing  very  high  floods  that 
the  water  covers  them,  they  must  have  been  formed 
in  the  post-glacial  epoch,  when  the  gorge  was  in 
process  of  erosion. 

Some  distance  below  the  wells,  on  the  same  side 
of  the  stream,  a  great  cliff  overhangs,  so  that  when 
standing  on  the  brow  the  water  is  hardly  discern- 
ible at  the  base.  Here  the  stream  is  nearly  as 
narrow  as  it  is  beneath  the  Pulpit,  and  perfectly 
still  under  ordinary  conditions,  although  dark  and 
threatening  in  appearance.  Above  the  cliff  we 
find  the  "  Coffee  Mill,"  a  whirlpool  deriving  its 
name  from  an  extravagant  propensity  to  spin  logs 
around  until  they  are  ground  to  a  point  at  each 
end,  and  generally  rendered  unfit  for  any  indus- 
trial purpose. 

When  the  annual  flood  is  at  the  maximum  level, 
the  falls  present  an  appearance  exceedingly  grand 
and  impressive.  Standing  at  the  water's  edge  in 
the  summer  season,  one  sees  the  flood  lines  thirty 
or  forty  feet  above,  and  clearly  marked  by  the  ab- 
sence of  all  vegetation  below  their  level.  During 
the  famous  freshet  of  May,  1887,  the  main  fall  was 
said  to  be  for  some  days  simply  an  enormous 
rapid,  while  at  the  outlet  of  the  gorge,  ordinarily 
quiet,  the  pent-up  waters  burst  forth  with  the 
wildest  fury.  Once  some  heavy  logs  became  fas- 
tened on  the  Split  Rock  ;  and  so  many  others  fol- 
lowed before  the  first  were  dislodged,  that  finally 
both  the  fall  and  the  pool  below  were  covered,  so 


60  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

that  men  could  walk  anywhere  over  the  dam  with 
safety.  After  all  human  efforts  to  loosen  the  mass 
had  failed,  this  vast  accumulation  of  valuable  tim- 
ber was  dislodged  by  a  sudden  rise  in  the  water. 
At  the  Aroostook  Fall,  hereinafter  described,  a 
similar  "  jam  "  took  place.  It  is  no  uncommon 
thing  to  see  heavy  logs,  thirty  or  forty  feet  in 
length,  tossed  completely  out  of  water  in  the 
rapids  of  the  gorge,  while  others  are  sucked  into 
whirlj^ools  formed  above  projecting  ledges,  and 
spun  round  for  many  days  without  remission. 

The  St.  John  River  is  almost  equally  divided 
by  the  Grand  Falls,  they  lieing  two  hundred  and 
eighteen  miles  from  the  source  of  the  Baker 
Branch  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  from 
the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Excepting  Niagara,  and  a 
possible  waterfall  or  two  in  the  Labrador  penin- 
sula, these  falls  of  the  St.  John  are  the  greatest  to 
be  found  east  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  fully 
one  third  the  total  drainage  area  of  the  river  is 
above  them.  A  flock  of  geese  is  said  to  have  come 
over  with  impunity ;  and  the  story  of  eighty  sf;al- 
wart  Indian  braves,  led  to  their  destruction  by 
the  squaw  of  a  hostile  tribe,  forms  a  part  of  the 
legendary  history  of  the  place.  The  difference  in 
level  between  the  upper  and  lower  basins  is  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  feet. 


THE  UPPER  ST.  JOUN.  01 

COLEBROOKE. 

Colebrooke,  or  Grand  Falls  Village,  which  has 
ab(3iit  one  thousand  inhabitants,  was  ambitiously 
laid  out  in  wide,  regular  streets  ;  but  as  the  growth 
stopped  shortly  afterwards,  the  streets  became 
quite  as  much  frequented  by  pigs  as  by  animals 
of  the  human  kind.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  gorge 
great  patches  of  turf  have  been  uprooted  by  the 
snouts  of  those  uncomely  quadrupeds.  A  portage 
road,  less  than  a  mile  long,  leads  around  the  gorge 
and  fall,  and  descends  very  precipitously  into  the 
lower  basin,  where  a  perfectly  level  tract  of 
grassy  land  borders  the  river  on  the  west,  over- 
flowed by  many  springs  of  icy  water  that  ooze 
from  the  base  of  the  cliffs.  Mosquitoes  are  found 
here  as  late  as  September  (a  gaunt  and  haggard 
brood,  and  venomous),  while  the  neighboring 
country  is  said  to  yield  two  strawberry  crops  in 
one  year.  What  magical  influence  over  nature 
does  the  big  cataract  possess  ? 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   MIDDLE  ST.   JOHN. 
FROM   GRAND    FALLS    TO    ANDOVER. 

At  the  basin  below  Grand  Falls  the  river 
pauses,  as  if  for  needed  rest,  and  then  races  away 
to  Andover,  twenty-four  miles  off,  at  an  average 
speed  of  six  miles  an  hour.  Here  and  there  some 
ledges  cross  the  channel,  or  loose  rocks  obstruct 
the  current,  forming  the  White  Rapid,  Rapide  de 
Femme,  and  Black  Rapid,  within  the  first  four 
miles  from  Colebrooke ;  Frayall's  Rapid,  near 
Little  River  ;  and  the  Tobique  Rips,  oj)posite  In- 
dian Point.  These  rapids  are  not  dangerous,  and 
the  uniform  rapidity  of  the  current  makes  them  less 
noticeable  than  would  otherwise  be  the  case.  The 
valley  is  narrow  and  deej),  with  many  well-formed 
terraces  rising  one  above  another,  and  marking 
former  water-levels  of  geological  antiquity.  An 
excellent  field  is  presented  for  the  study  of  gla- 
cial and  post-glacial  phenomena,  and  of  surface 
geology,  as  in  addition  to  the  numerous  terraces 
may  be  seen  the  drift-filled  pre-glacial  channels 
of  the  St.  John  around  the  Grand  Falls,  of  the 
Aroostook  around  the  Aroostook  Fall,  and  of  the 
Tobique  around  The  Narrows.  


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  63 

Between  Grand  Falls  and  Aroostook  the  coun- 
try is  more  rugged,  and  the  inhabitants  fewer  in 
number  than  elsewhere  between  St.  Francis  and 
the  sea,  while  the  railway  generally  follows  the 
level  table-lands  on  the  natural  terraces.  On  the 
Rapide  de  Femme  Brook,  two  and  a  half  miles 
from  Colebrooke  station,  the  government  main- 
tains a  salmon-hatchery,  above  which  the  water 
falls  fifty  feet  in  a  series  of  minute  cascades. 

Little  River,  which  enters  the  St.  John  three 
miles  above  Aroostook,  is  in  itself  of  no  impor- 
tance, but  it  reminds  one  of  the  blundering  bad 
taste  of  the  early  colonists  in  calling  a  dozen  or 
more  streams  in  western  New  Brunswick  by  that 
commonplace  name,  while  so  many  euphonious 
Indian  words  were  negligently  abandoned  and 
lost. 

SALMON   RIVER. 

Salmon  River  rises  near  the  source  of  Grand 
River,  runs  a  course  of  forty  miles,  drains  some- 
thing over  two  hundred  square  miles,  and  dis- 
embogues into  the  St.  John  six  miles  below  the 
Grand  Falls.  Through  a  deep  valley,  encom- 
passed by  lofty  hills  clad  in  a  dense  spruce  forest, 
the  tributary  stream  rushes  forth  with  a  speed 
rarely  found  in  such  a  small  body  of  water. 
Crossing  a  rich  intervale  where  stately  elms  are 
grouped  with  other  trees  in  the  regularity  of  an 
artificial  park,  the  water  of  the  Salmon  River  — 
and  very  pure,  transparent  water,  too  —  dances 


G4  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

and  sparkles,  and  seems  momentarily  to  increase 
in  speed  ;  while  such  is  the  force  of  the  stream 
that,  in  the  course  of  time,  masses  of  pebbles  and 
sand  have  been  pushed  out,  crowding  the  main 
St.  John  into  a  comparatively  narrow  and  very 
rapid  channel.  One  of  the  ablest  canoe-polers  of 
the  Madawaska  valley  said  that  he  had  never  un- 
dertaken a  more  difficult  task  than  that  of  push- 
ing a  birch  up  the  first  five  miles  of  this  mad 
stream.  "  Worse  than  Green  liiver ! ''  he  re- 
marked, wiping  the  perspiration  from  his  brow. 
Salmon  River  may  be  ascended  for  thirty  miles 
or  more,  but  nothing  will  be  gained  by  so  doing, 
unless  the  explorer  desires  to  penetrate  the  wil- 
derness in  a  new  direction.  The  water  is  less 
rapid  above  Foley  Brook. 

Salmon  never  resort  to  this  river  now,  as  once 
they  did,  and  the  trout-fishing  is  jDOor. 

THE   AROOSTOOK   RIVER. 

Six  miles  above  Andover  the  Aroostook  sweeps 
into  the  St.  John  by  a  graceful  bend  around  the 
base  of  a  lofty  ridge,  which  terminates  in  a  knife- 
like point  at  the  very  confluence  of  the  two  wa- 
ters ;  and,  in  length  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
niiles  when  measured  from  the  source  of  the 
Munsungan,  and  drainage  area  two  thousand  one 
hundred  and  sixty  square  miles,  it  is  certainly  the 
largest  tributary.  Probably  the  average  volume 
of  discharge  is  also  the  greatest,  but  on  no  other 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  65 

large  branch  of  the  St.  John  does  the  water  fall 
so  low  in  dry  weather.  Even  Green  River,  with 
an  area  less  than  one  fourth  as  great,  is  generally 
navigable  when  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
work  a  canoe  over  the  partially  dry  bed  of  the 
Aroostook.  The  causes  are,  probably,  the  paucity 
of  large  lakes  which  retain  the  flood  water,  the 
extensive  denudation  of  forest,  and  the  widening 
of  the  channel  by  heavy  lumber  driven  from  the 
upper  waters.  Once  the  valley  was  famous  for 
white  pine,  but  the  larger  trees  have  been  pretty 
well  culled  out  in  recent  years.  So  rich  and  well- 
irrigated  is  the  soil  that  the  region  has  been  called 
"  The  Garden  of  Maine." 

The  Munsungan  stream,  undoubtedly  the  prin- 
cipal branch  of  the  Aroostook,  rises  near  the 
sources  of  the  Musquacook  Kiver  and  Spider 
Brook,  tributaries  of  the  Allagash,  and,  by  uniting 
with  the  Milnikak,  Millnokett,  or  south  branch, 
forms  the  Aroostook  proper.  Both  the  Munsun- 
gan and  Millnokett  have  lakes  and  deadwaters. 
Thirteen  miles  of  stream  connect  Big  Munsungan 
Lake  with  the  Millnokett,  and  one  fall  occurs, 
necessitating  a  portage  for  canoes.  Above  the 
lake  are  deadwaters,  fed  by  small  brooks,  many 
of  which  flow  from  very  picturesque  little  ponds 
among  the  mountains. 

The  Millnokett  stream  may  be  reached  by  por- 
taging from  the  East  Branch  of  the  Penobscot  to 
a  small  pond  above  Big  Millnokett  Lake.     Below 


66  TUE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

the  lake  the  channel  widens  into  another  pond, 
followed  by  a  few  miles  of  rough  water,  and  the 
lower  course  is  also  somewhat  obstructed  by  rap- 
ids. Deadwaters  are  found  above  and  below  the 
mouth  of  the  principal  tributary,  the  Milmigas- 
set,  a  rough  brook  flowing  from  Milmigasset  Lake, 
one  of  the  prettiest  little  bodies  of  water  in  the 
Aroostook  valley. 

The  Mooseluc  River  runs  about  thirty  miles, 
drains  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  square  miles, 
and  enters  the  Aroostook  from  the  north,  ten 
miles  below  Millnokett.  Its  various  sources  inter- 
lock with  the  Munsungan,  Musquacook,  and  Big 
Machias  rivers ;  and  the  country  comprising  the 
valleys  of  these  streams  is  one  of  the  best,  possi- 
bly the  very  best,  of  moose  grounds  in  the  St. 
John  River  basin,  and  a  locality  equally  as  good 
for  deer  and  caribou.  The  traveler  must  be  con- 
tent with  the  hunt,  however,  as  the  fishing  is  very 
inferior.  Chandler  Brook  joins  the  Mooseluc  a 
few  miles  above  the  mouth,  and  drains  a  fair- 
sized  lake. 

A  little  above  Umcoleus  st;ream,  and  ninety-five 
miles  by  water  from  the  St.  John,  begins  that 
pioneer  settlement  called  the  Ox-bow  Plantation ; 
then  the  Aroostook  ceases  to  be  a  wilderness 
river.  The  banks  are  generally  under  cultiva- 
tion, although  wooded  in  places  ;  and  the  water 
glides  noiselessly  along,  unbroken  by  a  single 
rapid  that  the  ordinary  canoeist  would  call  a  bad 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  67 

one.  The  scenery  is  attractive,  although  strictly 
rural.  The  Umcoleus  stream,  which  takes  its 
name,  as  the  Indians  say,  from  a  species  of  wild 
duck,  may  be  ascended  hy  canoe,  if  the  poler's 
arm  be  stronger  than  the  ra})ids  ;  and  at  its  head 
are  deadwaters  connected  by  a  portage  with  a 
tributary  of  the  East  Branch  of  the  Penobscot. 
The  La  Pampeag  River,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  in  early  times  the  principal  avenue  to  the 
Aroostook  from  the  Penobscot  country,  flows  be- 
tween low  banks  incumbered  with  alders  and 
leaning  bushes. 

The  Masardis,  or  St.  Croix  River,  probably  the 
largest  tributary,  but  one  uninteresting  to  sports- 
men, as  flowing  through  a  partially  inhabited 
country,  enters  from  the  south,  twelve  miles  above 
Ashland,  and  drains  two  hundred  and  sixty 
square  miles.  Big  Machias  River,  on  the  con- 
trary, another  tributary  draining  over  two  hun- 
dred square  miles  of  forest  and  desolate,  barren 
land  between  the  valleys  of  the  Mooseluc  and 
Fish  rivers,  affords  an  excellent  hunting  ground 
for  moose  and  other  large  game. 

Pending  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  ques- 
tion between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
the  Aroostook  valley  became  the  prey  of  lawless 
trespassers,  who  removed  large  quantities  of  the 
most  valuable  timber.  The  legislature  of  Maine, 
in  secret  session,  passed  a  resolve  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  public  lands,  and  authorized  Sheriff 


08  THE  ST.  JOUN  lilVER. 

Strickland  to  mustor  a  company  of  volunteers  for 
the  su})pression  of  this  illegal  traffic.  On  the 
fifth  day  of  February,  1839,  two  hundred  men 
were  marching  through  the  wilderness,  under  the 
leadershii)  of  Captain  Stover  Kines,  and  on  the 
eighth  of  that  month  they  reached  Masardis 
stream,  fell  unexpectedly  upon  the  trespassers, 
who  offered  but  slight  resistance,  and  ca})tured 
their  teams  and  implements.  Flushed  with  suc- 
cess the  comi)any  then  advanced  to  the  Little 
Madawaska,  where  they  met  with  a  reverse,  and 
Captain  Rines  was  made  a  prisoner,  and  carried 
off  to  Fredericton.  These  events  precipitated  the 
so-called  "  Aroostook  War,"  a  general  call  to 
arms  throughout  the  Provinces  and  Maine,  for- 
tunately unattended  with  loss  of  life,  and  leading 
to  some  curious  international  complications  and 
Lord  Ashburton's  treaty. 

Ashland  village,  forty-five  miles  by  road  from 
the  St.  John  River,  is  prettily  situated  on  a  hill- 
top overlooking  the  great  green  forest  of  the 
Machias  valley.  It  is  the  terminus  of  a  lumber- 
men's road  that  extends  almost  straight  across 
northern  Maine  to  the  Quebec  settlements,  cross- 
ing the  Musquacook  and  Allagash  rivers,  and 
connecting  Seven  Islands  with  St.  Pamphile. 
Few  but  Indians  can  trace  it  now,  so  overgrown 
has  it  become  in  many  places  \^ith  young  trees 
and  dwarfish  shrubbery. 

Midway  between  Masardis  and   Machias   the 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  69 

Aroostook  receives  the  Squiipan,  a  **  eanoeable  " 
strejuii,  issuing  from  a  lake  nine  miles  in  length, 
the  largest  in  the  Aroostook  vall(?y. 

From  Ashland  to  Prescjue  Isle  the  river  is  shal- 
low and  very  broad,  —  in  phiees  as  broad  as  the 
main  St.  John  above  Echnundston.  The  town  of 
Presque  Isle,  a  miniature  metropolis  of  four  thou- 
sand ])eople,  built  across  the  Presque  Isle  stream, 
one  mile  above  its  confluence  with  the  Aroostook, 
has  sprung  nuishroom-like,  in  a  few  years,  from 
two  houses  and  a  mill ;  while  the  villages  of  Cari- 
bou and  Fort  Fairfield,  the  former  fourteen,  the 
latte^  twenty-six  miles  below  Presque  Isle,  have 
also  had  a  rapid,  prosperous  growth.  Presc^ue  Isle 
stream  resembles  the  Masardis  ;  and  as  the  upper 
waters  interlock  with  those  of  another  Presque 
Isle,  a  tributary  of  the  St.  John,  the  two  streams 
are  called  respectively  the  Aroostook  and  St.  John 
Presque  Isles  by  way  of  distinction.  Although 
but  sixteen  miles  from  Presque  Isle  town  to  the 
St.  John,  the  distance  is  thirty-three  miles  by  the 
river,  which  makes  a  very  sharp  northward  bend. 
Below  Caribou  the  Little  Madawaska  enters  the 
Aroostook  from  the  north,  a  large  stream  drain- 
two  hundred  and  thirty  square  miles  south  of  the 
east  branch  of  Fish  River,  and  said  to  be  sluggish, 
flowing  through  swampy  forests  of  spruce  and  fir. 

Four  miles  from  the  mouth,  the  noble  Aroos- 
took sadly  impairs  its  reputation  as  a  stream  of 
uninterrupted  tranquillity.     The  water  divides  at 


70  ,  THE  ST.  JOHN  lilVEIi. 

first  into  little  rapid  channels,  which  gradually 
contract  and  unite ;  the  sl()i)e  of  the  river  bed 
and  th(}  force  of  the  current  ever  increasing, 
until  the  river  finally  enters  a  gorge,  and  tund)les 
about  in  it  with  a  wanton  fury  only  exceeded  by 
that  of  the  St.  John  at  the  (irand  Falls.  The 
walls  of  the  gorge  art;  low  at  first,  but  rise  to  an 
elevation  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet  at  the  lower 
end.  Within  are  five  principal  cascades  aggre- 
gating seventy-five  feet  in  height ;  the  largest  a 
fall  of  sixteen  feet,  at  the  foot  of  the  gorge, 
where  a  remarkable  dike  of  diorite  overhangs 
the  water.  Innncdiately  below  the  dike  is  the 
Split  liock,  on  which  lumber  once  piled,  as  at  the 
Grand  Falls,  until  the  gorge  became  completely 
choked.  Nicely  formed  wtIIs  ai)pear  at  the 
Aroostook  Falls,  worn  out  by  the  grinding  lu'tion 
of  rounded  stones,  and  one  especially  is  very 
large,  the  water  within  pulsating  in  correspond- 
ence with  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  fall  outside, 
by  reason  of  some  curious  subterranean  connec- 
tion. Dense  evergreen  woods  surround  the  gorge, 
and  the  scene  is  })icturestj[ue  in  the  extreme. 

The  valley  of  the  Aroostook,  in  the  three  miles 
intervening  between  the  fall  and  mouth,  is  very 
deep,  and  in  several  places  the  water  falls  over 
ledges  and  bowlders,  forming  rough  rapids. 
Whatson's  and  Herd's  rapids  are  the  most  dan- 
gerous to  navigate,  and  are  already  responsible 
for  one  or   two  canoe  wrecks    and  some  loss  of 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  71 

life.  Tn  1842  ii  canoo  contiiinin^j^  Dr.  Gesncr  and 
his  Indians  was  carried  over  Whatson's  Rapid 
and  swamped,  nuich  to  the  doctor's  vexation,  as 
he  had  intended  to  confine  his  geological  re- 
searches to  snch  ledges  as  ap])eared  above?  water. 
The  Angeanepiapsporhcgan,  or  Limestone  River, 
enters  from  the  north  near  Herd's  Rapid  by 
snccessive  cascades  called  '*  The  Four  Falls,"  hav- 
ing a  total  descent  of  eighty  feet. 

Although  the  Aroostook  waters  are  not  well 
stocked  with  fish,  the  Tobiipie  Indians  succeed  in 
spearing  a  good  many  salmon  at  the  deep  black 
pool  below  the  fall.  Some  idea  of  that  fish's 
strength  and  activity  may  be  conveyed  by  merely 
stating  that  a  few  small  salmon  succeed  in  as- 
cending the  gorge.  Of  late  years  grilse  have 
been  taken  with  the  fly  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little 
Machias  River. 

THE    TOBIQUE    RIVER. 

Not  often  does  a  river  like  the  St.  John,  consid- 
erably exceeding  four  hundred  miles  in  length,  re- 
ceive its  two  principal  tributaries  within  a  distance 
of  four  miles  ;  yet  just  so  far  below  Aroostook  the  > 
famous  Tobique  River  pours  its  pure,  translucent 
waters  into  the  greater  stream.  The  Tobique  meas- 
ures about  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  to  the  source 
of  the  so-called  Right  Hand  Branch,  and  drains  . 
fifteen  hundred  and  sixty  square  miles.  A  gentle- 
man visiting  the  river  in  1863  says :  "  The  mouth 


72  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

of  the  Tobiqiie  is  exceedingly  insignificant,  and  en- 
tirely nnsuggestive  of  the  beautiful  scenery  which 
characterizes  the  river  in  every  other  part.  This 
unprepossessing  appearance  is  caused  by  the  land 
being  here  quite  low,  and  the  channel  obstructed  by 
evergreen  intervale  islands.  One  would  scarcely 
suppose  that  there  was  any  river  here  at  all,  much 
less  one  of  the  largest  tributaries  of  the  river  St. 
John."  To-day  the  water  rushes  forth  in  one 
rapidly  moving  mass,  which  presents  an  imposing 
appearance,  even  when  viewed  from  the  Andover 
bank.  Can  lumber,  swift  water,  and  ice,  in  so 
short  a  period,  have  comj^letely  eroded  these  "  ever- 
green intervale  inlands,"  and  scattered  them,  in  the 
form  of  silt,  along  miles  of  the  river  below  ? 

The  Tobique  and  St.  John  waters  do  not  thor- 
oughly intei'  angle  where  they  meet,  but  even  at 
Andover,  two  miles  down,  the  former  stream's 
proximity  is  indicated  by  the  transparency  of  the 
river  near  the  eastern  bank.  Below  Green  River 
the  line  of  demarcation  is  equally  distinct. 

On ''  The  Point,"  above  the  Tobique  outlet,  we 
find  a  village  peopled  exclusively  l^y  Maliseet  In- 
dians, the  aboriginal  proprietors  of  both  the  To- 
bique and  St.  John.  There  are  three  principal 
Maliseet  villages,  —  one  at  St.  Mary's,  opposite 
Fredericton;  one  on  the  west  bank  of  the  St. 
John,  twelve  miles  above  Fredericton,  and  the  one 
under  consideration.  A  family  of  the  Penobscot 
tribe  has  settled  at  St.  Pamphile,  near  Big  Black 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  73 

River,  and  a  few  scattered  Maliseet  families  live 
at  Edmundston  and  other  points.  Here,  as  else- 
where, these  "dusky  aborigines  are  incapable  of 
thorough  civilization,  but  peaceful  and  inoffensive 
nevertheless.  Some  of  them  farm  in  a  small  way ; 
all  have  ceased  to  live  in  wigwams.  The  men 
build  canoes,  hunt,  and  act  as  guides.  The  squaws 
make  baskets  and  like  articles  of  commerce,  and 
indeed  do  all  the  less  interesting  work,  as  no  dis- 
turbing modern  theories  of  woman's  rights  have 
entered  the  cerebral  cavity  of  the  brawny  Maliseet. 
In  every  village  the  Indians  maintain  a  brood  of 
ugly,  vicious  dogs ;  but  dogs  not  under  their  im- 
mediate control  they  greatly  fear.  The  birch-bark 
canoe  is  used  invariably,  while  the  French  and 
English  settlers  along  the  Upper  St.  John  prefer 
the  pirogue,  a  clumsy-looking  craft,  shaped,  like 
that  of  the  ancient  Britons,  from  a  single  log.  In 
still  water  the  birch  outstrips  the  pirogue,  espe- 
cially in  running  with  the  wind,  but  in  poling  rap- 
ids the  pirogue  keeps  the  better  headway.  The 
Indians  experience  some  difficulty  at  present  in 
procuring  suitable  bark  for  canoe-buildirg.  The 
white  or  canoe  birch  is  said  to  attain  a  diameter 
of  six  or  seven  feet  in  some  parts  of  the  northern 
woods,  but  so  widespread  has  been  its  destruction 
that  the  Indian  is  compelled  to  seek  it  in  regions 
growing  ever  more  remote.  Where  once  canoes 
were  covered  with  a  single  sheet  of  bark,  they  now 
too  often  exhibit  unbecoming  seams  and  patches. 


74  THE  ST.  JOHN  lilVEli. 

which,  opening  from  atmospheric  change  or  con- 
tact with  stones  and  snags,  necessitate  a  frequent 
use  of  the  rosin-pot. 

Two  lakes  resting  on  the  common  watershed 
between  the  St.  John  and  Miramichi  rivers,  and 
called  respectively  "  Long  "  and  "  Trousers,"  form 
the  principal  sources  of  the  Tohique.  Trousers 
Lake,  which  is  five  mile»  long,  has  been  named 
from  the  similarity  in  form  to  a  well-known  ar- 
ticle of  male  attire.  Had  nature  placed  it  on 
the  broad  Aroostook  they  would  have  calJed  it 
"  Pants."  The  shores  are  low  and  thickly  wooded 
to  the  water's  edge  with  black  spruce,  which  im- 
parts a  weird  and  gloomy  asi)ect.  Long  Lake, 
seven  miles  in  length,  is  much  more  beautiful, 
with  higher  shores.  Large  bowlders,  deeply 
overgrown  with  moss,  cover  the  surface  of  the 
country  in  this  vicinity.  Both  lakes  send  forth 
goodly  streams,  which,  by  uniting,  create  the 
"  Right  Hand  Branch,"  or  principal  water,  of 
the  Tobique.  Geographically  speaking,  it  is  the 
"left  hand  branch,"  but  popular  names,  when 
generally  accepted,  admit  of  no  coriection.  From 
Long  Lake  a  portage  of  seven  miles  leads  to  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Little  Southwest  Miramichi 
Eiver ;  a  very  difficult  portage  to  cross,  but  one 
that  affords  the  traveler  what  is  possibly  the 
longest  and  most  attractive  journey  through  an 
unbroken  wilderness  to  be  found  east  of  the  St. 
Lawrence.     Britt  Brook,  a  tributary  of  the  Long 


THE  MIDDLE  RIVER.  75 

Lake  stream,  flows  froii.  a  little  lake  on  the  same 
watershed  with  the  others. 

The  Right  Hand  Branch  has  a  rough  fall,  three 
or  four  feet  high,  six  miles  above  its  junction  with 
the  Left  Hand  Branch,  Little  Tobique,  or  Nic- 
taux ;  and  elsewhere  is  rapid  and  ledgy,  with  high 
banks,  gradually  rising  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Don  River,  or  Long  Lake  stream.  Above  the  Don 
the  bowlders  make  the  channel  rough  and  difficult 
to  navigate. 

The  Serpentine  River  enters  from  the  east, 
about  twelve  miles  below  the  Don,  and  widens  at 
one  part  to  form  Serpentine  Lake,  a  very  tortuous 
sheet  of  water,  surrounded  by  hills  which  decline 
to  form  flat  projecting  headlands.  The  channel 
is  incumbered  by  bowlders  for  six  miles  below  the 
lake,  and  then  we  find  a  deadwater  approached 
by  lofty  ridges  which  stretch  away  towards  Cow 
Mountain,  on  the  southeast.  Nine  miles  below 
the  deadwater  the  river  cuts  through  a  granite 
belt,  forming  rapids  and  falls,  around  which  a 
portage  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  becomes  necessary. 
Several  large  brooks  enter,  and  most  of  them, 
including  North  Pole  Brook,  rise  near  the  sources 
of  the  Little  Southwest  Branch  of  the  Nepisiguit. 
The  various  lakes  we  have  mentioned  lie  approx- 
imately parallel  with  each  other,  and  are  connected 
by  a  series  of  portages ;  that  from  Serpentine 
Lake  to  Britt  Brook  Lake  being  the  longest. 

The  word  Nictaux  means  "  Forks,"  and  in  no 


76  THE  ST.  JOHN  mVEE. 

other  part  of  the  country  do  we  find  such  a  pecu- 
liar eorrivation  as  the  Nictaux  or  Forks  of  the 
Tohique.  Ahnost  at  the  confluence  of  the  two 
principal  streams,  the  Mamozekel  liiver  enters  the 
Eight  Hand  Branch ;  the  Sisson  stream,  the 
Left.  The  same  explorer  who  noted  the  islands 
near  the  mouth  remarked :  ''  The  two  branches 
form  with  the  main  stream  a  figure  somewhat  re- 
sembling an  italic  T." 

The  Sisson  Branch  has  a  fall  seven  miles  above 
the  mouth,  where  a  j^ortage  of  more  than  a  mile 
nmst  be  made  ;  above  the  fall  a  tributary  enters 
from  the  northeast,  flowing  from  Sisson  Lake, 
an  excellent  water  for  trout.  A  lessee  of  the 
T^bique,  accustomed  to  hunt  around  the  Nictaux 
with  John  Bernard  and  "  Frank,"  two  of  the  most 
experienced  Indians  at  "  The  Point,"  says:  "Up 
to  the  present  time  (March,  189B),  no  person, 
not  even  a  lumberman  or  Indian,  has  ever  visited 
the  headwaters  of  the  main  Sisson  stream." 
There  can  be  little  question  about  the  accuracy 
of  his  information. 

The  Nictaux,  or  Little  Tobique,  runs  about  thirty- 
five  miles  and  drains,  with  the  Sisson  Branch,  an 
area  of  three  hundred  and  sev(jnty  square  miles. 
The  drainage  area  of  the  Right  Hand  Branch  is 
slightly  greater.  All  these  streams  spread  out 
over  the  country  so  as  to  give  a  fan-shaped  ap- 
pearance when  viewed  on  the  map,  the  main  To- 
bique being  the  handle  of  the  fan,  the  various 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  77 

branches  the  spokes.  The  many  lakes,  ponds,  and 
barren  hinds  around  the  outskirts  of  the  watershed 
afford  a  hunting  ground  for  moose  and  other  large 
game,  very  little,  if  any,  inferior  to  that  surround- 
ing the  upper  Aroostook. 

Nictaux  Lake,  the  most  picturesque  little  wa- 
ter imaginable,  and  the  head  of  the  Left  Pland 
Branch,  nestles  at  the  base  of  Bald  Mountain, 
the  highest  peak  in  New  Brunswick.  The  moun- 
tain, which  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  bald,  but 
clothed  with  a  stunted  vegetation,  rises  quite 
abruptly  from  the  water's  edge  to  a  height  of  2,240 
feet,  or  a  little  less  than  half  a  mile.  The  sides 
are  strewn  with  large  detached  blocks  of  granite, 
and  the  slope  has  been  ascertained,  by  actual 
measurement,  to  be  no  less  than  forty-five  degrees. 
The  view  from  the  summit  is  so  extensive  that  on 
a  clear  day  with  a  good  glass  one  may  on  the  one 
hand  see  the  cliffs  of  Gaspe  to  the  northv.^ard,  and 
on  the  other,  in  the  far-off  south,  the  still  more 
lofty  and  snow-crowned  peak  of  Katahdin.  The 
whole  country,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  is  one 
unbroken  wilderness,  thrown  into  mountains  and 
ridges  of  every  variety  of  outline.  A  stream  having 
a  few  feet  of  rapid  descent  divides  Nictaux  Lake 
into  two  parts,  the  upper  part  connecting  with  Nepi- 
siguit  Lake  by  a  portage  two  miles  and  a  half  long. 
By  ascending  the  Tobique,  crossing  this  portage, 
and  descending  the  Nepisiguit  River,  the  traveler 
will  enjoy  a  very  surfeit  of  good  hunting  and  fishing. 


78  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

rapid-shooting,  l)eautifiil  seeneiy,  and  wild  camp 
life.  The  lower  lake  is  two  miles  long  by  one 
broad,  and  completely  inclosed  by  hills,  except  at 
the  ends.  A  tiny  island,  bare  of  all  vegetation, 
rises  in  the  very  centre  of  the  eastern  end,  im- 
mediately beneath  Bald  Mountain,  affording  the 
jaded  traveler  a  complete  refuge  from  those 
quintessences  of  wickedness  on  wings,  the  black 
flies. 

The  Little  Tobique  is  somewhat  obstructc^d  by 
rapids  for  a  few  miles  below  the  lake,  and  then 
becomes  narrow,  deep,  and  swift,  with  many  wind- 
ings. The  Great  and  Little  Cedar  streams  enter 
from  the  north,  their  upper  waters  being  probably 
as  little  known  as  those  of  the  Sisson  Branch. 
Below  "•  The  Cedars  "  the  stream  becomes  more 
tortuous  than  ever,  the  current  slower,  the  banks 
thickly  overgrown  with  tangled  alders.  Had  the 
ancients  been  familiar  with  Northern  New  Bruns- 
wick they  might  have  chosen  the  Nictaux  or 
Cabineau,  instead  of  the  Meander,  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  thoroughly  aimless  crookedness. 

The  main  Tobique  measures  some  sixty-three 
miles  from  the  Nictaux  to  Indian  Point,  the  only 
really  rough  waters  occurring  at  the  Narrows  and 
Red  Rapids,  although  the  current  is  swift  in  most 
places.  The  valley  is  one  of  the  most  fertile  and 
beautiful  ones  in  the  Province,  and  on  no  other 
tributary  of  the  St.  John,  unless  it  is  the  Aroos- 
took, has  the  pristine  forest  so  rapidly  disappeared 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN,  79 

before  the  settler's  axe.  While  in  1860  hut  a 
few  scattered  dwellings  appeared,  near  the  lied 
Rapids,  the  valley  is  now  continuously,  in  many 
places  thickly,  settled  from  the  Nictaux  to  the  St. 
John. 

One  of  the  most  enchanting*  parts  of  the  stream 
is  the  Blue  Mountain  Bend,  where  the  water  is 
smooth,  deep,  and  transparently  clear,  and  the 
three  rao^ed  summits  of  the  Blue  Mountains  rise 
abruptly  on  the  east.  The  soil  is  reddish  below 
Two  Brooks ;  the  land  alluvial  and  rich.  There 
are  many  islands,  low  and  covered  with  luxuriant 
vegetation.  Dr.  Gesner  estimates  their  number 
in  the  main  Tobique  to  be  no  less  than  seventy, 
but  it  is  liable  to  change  from  time  to  time 
through  natural  causes. 

The  Gulquac  enters  the  Tobique  from  the 
south,  about  twenty-five  miles  below  the  Nictaux, 
and  Gulquac  Lake,  the  source  of  the  south  and 
principal  branch,  is  connected  with  Trousers  Lake 
by  a  portage  two  miles  and  one  half  long.  The 
stream  is  rather  too  rough  for  canoeing,  as  it 
winds  around  the  bases  of  bold  and  rugged  cliffs, 
but  the  upper  waters  of  both,  branches  lie  well 
within  the  country  of  large  game.  In  the  summer 
of  1885  the  industrious  beaver  so  far  forgot  his 
constitutional  dislike  of  civilization  as  to  construct 
a  dam  across  it,  four  miles  from  the  settlements 
in  the  Tobique  valley,  a  perfect  model  of  infra- 
human  architecture  by  which  every  drop  of  water 


80  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

was  successfully  turned  into  the  adjoining  woods, 
and  the  river  bed  left  quite  dry  for  many  yards 
below.  "  Beaver  like  white  man,"  remarked  the 
delighted  guide  on  first  discovering  it,  ''  settles 
down  and  goes  to  work ;  otter  like  Injun,  here 
to-day,  there  to-morrow." 

The  Au-kee-awe-waps-ke-he-gan,  or  "  River  with 
a  wall  at  its  mouth,"  is  another  j)rincipal  contrib- 
utor of  the  Tobique,  entering  from  the  south, 
twenty -eight  miles  above  Indian  Point.  Its 
name,  which  certainly  deserves  to  have  some 
meaning,  has  been  successively  shortened  to 
"  Wapskehegan"  and  "  Wapsky,"  while  the  "  wall 
at  the  mouth  "  consists  of  a  cliff  of  red  and  snow- 
white  gypsum,  interstratified  with  marl  and  sand- 
stone, and  often  of  a  pearly  whiteness.  It  is 
sixty  feet  high,  and  nearly  perpendicular,  exhibit- 
ing a  curious  and  beautiful  appearance,  from  the 
alternating  bands  of  gypsum  and  red  sandstone. 
The  Wapsky,  with  its  tributary  the  Riviere  du 
Chute,  and  the  Southwest  Miramichi  River,  have 
interlocking  waters.  Possibly  a  canoe  could  be 
"  portaged"  across,  although  the  task  would  doubt- 
less be  very  difficult. 

Three  Brooks  stream  flows  from  the  north,  a 
few  miles  below  the  apex  of  the  Wapsky  Flat. 
On  the  east  branch  we  discover  an  excellent 
trout  pool.  The  Otella  or  Odell  River  flows  from 
the  south,  its  two  principal  branches  uniting  in  a 
picturesque  ravine,  where  the  country  is  dotted 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  81 

with  curious  little  mounds,  almost  exactly  pyram- 
idal in  form. 

An  interesting  feature  of  the  lower  ToLique  is 
the  almost  tropical  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation. 
On  the  banks  are  elms  and  mountain  ash  of  enor- 
mous height,  with  tall  grass,  and  ferns  four  or 
five  feet  high.  Even  the  extreme  severity  of  the 
winters  seems  unable  to  check  the  natural  out- 
growth of  soils  so  fertile.  At  the  Red  Rapids, 
twelve  miles  above  the  mouth,  where  beds  of 
bright  red  sandstone  cross  obliquely  the  bed  of 
the  stream,  we  find  the  only  rough  water  that  the 
canoeist  need  encounter,  except  the  rapids  in  the 
narrows  ;  but  while  difficult  to  ascend  by  poling, 
the  Red  Rapids  are  not  at  all  dangerous.  An 
Indian  guide,  inclined  to  be  lazy,  —  and  how 
many  Indian  guides  are  not  ?  —  likes  to  make  the 
most  of  them  as  an  excuse  for  shortening  the 
day's  journey  and  protracting  his  employment. 

Within  a  circle,  having  a  twelve-mile  radius, 
we  find  the  Grand  Falls  of  the  St.  John,  the 
Aroostook  Fall,  and  the  Tobique  Narrows,  three 
lasting  monuments  of  the  glacial  era.  It  is  prob- 
able that,  immediately  after  the  disturbance  which 
turned  the  rivers  from  their  respective  channels, 
three  mighty  cataracts  were  formed,  situated  at 
the  lower  ends  of  the  modern  gorges,  and  equal  to 
their  present  massive  walls  in  height.  A  process 
of  erosion  began,  continued  through  the  countless 
ages,  a  very  race  of   waterfalls,  a  never-ceasing 


82  THE  ST.  niVER  JOHN. 

struggle  to  wear  away  tlie  barriers  of  rock.  With 
what  result  ?  The  Grand  Falls  have  moved  one 
mile  and  lost  one  half  their  height  and  majesty. 
The  Aroostook,  moving  too  speedily,  has  formed 
a  series  of  cascades,  which  being  less  in  power 
will  long  remain  there.  The  Tobique,  least  in 
volume  wliile  greatest  in  erosive  might,  alone  has 
conquered  the  inqjcding  barrier,  and  now  it  gam- 
bols over  the  vanquished  ledges  in  some  rather 
lively  rapids,  the  sole  remaining  remnants  of  the 
gTeat  post-glacial  cataract.  In  a  few  more  ages 
the  narrows  will  undoubtedly  })resent  the  placid 
surface  of  a  lake.  The  obstruction  which  created 
Grand  Falls  stemmed  back  the  water  above,  but 
the  similar  impediment  which  caused  the  Tobique 
Narrows  merely  heaped  up  large  quantities  of 
traveling  sand  in  what  is  called  "  The  Grand 
Bar,"  the  water  jilainly  increasing  instead  of  di- 
minishing in  speed.  Canoes  may  descend  the  nar- 
rows with  safety,  although  the  novice  sometimes 
experiences  such  an  uprising  of  the  hair  as  would 
put  "  the  fretful  porcupine  "  to  shame  ;  and  the 
stream  drivers  steer  small  rafts  down  during  the 
spring  floods.  Within  the  lower  and  middle  por- 
tions of  the  gorge  the  water  is  tranquil  and  very 
deep,  but  so  beautifully  transparent  that  the  in- 
terlacing veins  of  pure  white  calcite  may  be  seen 
distinctly  at  a  depth  of  sixty  feet,  contrasting,  as 
they  do,  so  strongly  with  the  darker  ledges  of 
slate.  .  -^. 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  83 

The  reader  may  be  disappointed  to  learn  that 
the  public  are  debarred  from  using  the  Tobicpie 
as  other  than  a  natural  highway.     Sueh   is    the 
case,  however,  the  local  government  having  leased 
it  for  salmon  and  trout  fishing  to  the  same  syndi- 
cate that  controls  Green  River.     Without  discus- 
sing the  propriety  of  this  mode  of  raising  provin- 
cial revenue,  we  merely   remark  that  the  policy 
has  caused  much  ill  feeling  on  the  Tobique.     So 
general  was  the  discontent  at  first,  that  when  some 
poachers   fired    upon    a   fishing   party,    instantly 
killing  the  wife  of  one  of  the  lessees,  the  sympa- 
thetic jurymen  could  not  be  convinced  th'it  the 
crime  was  one  of  higher  degree  than  manslaughter. 
The  great  salmon  pools  of  the  Tobique  are  dis- 
tributed along  the  river  as  follows,  viz. :  Four  on 
the  Serpentine,  at  distances  almost  equally  apart, 
dividing  that  river  into  four  equal  sections ;  two 
within  the  first  mile  and  a  half  of  the  Right  Hand 
Branch  below  the  confluence  of  the  streams  flow- 
ing from  Long  and  Trousers  lakes ;  one  on  the 
Right  Hand  Branch  about  three  miles  above  the 
Serpentine ;  two  close  together  and  perhaps  five 
miles  below  the  Serpentine ;  one,  called  the  Seven 
Mile  Pool,  it  being  just  that  distance  above  the 
Nictaux;   one  about  half  a  mile  above  the  Ma- 
mozekel ;  one  at  the  Nictaux  or  Forks ;  one  at  the 
mouth  of  Cedar  Brook  on   the  Little   Tobique ; 
one  two  miles  and  one  four  miles  below  the  Nic- 
taux ;  one  just  above  Riley  Brook,  and  one  a  mile 


84  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

and  a  half  below  Riley  Brook :  seventeen  in  all. 
Of  course  salmon  may  be  taken  at  many  other 
places,  and  in  addition  to  the  generally  good  trout 
fishing  there  are  pools  of  special  excellence  on 
the  Serpentine,  three  miles  below  the  lake,  and 
on  the  main  Tobique  at  the  mouth  of  a  small 
brook  entering  from  the  south,  a  little  below 
Gulquac.  Trousers  Lake  and  another  small  lake 
near  by  are  also  considered  good  waters  for  trout. 
The  Tobique  salmon  is  smaller  than  the  Resti- 
gouche,  and  less  gamey  than  the  Miramichi 
salmon,  but  affords  very  good  sport  nevertheless. 
A  gentleman  when  visiting  the  river  in  1863 
said :  "  The  trout  are  so  numerous  and  voracious 
as  to  jump  at  the  canoe  paddles;"  while  in  184 i  a 
settler  living  near  the  mouth  killed  twelve  barrel* 
of  salmon  with  a  single  spear.  Those  happy  days 
have  long  gone  by,  and  with  civilization's  onward 
march  the  whole  basin  of  the  St.  John  is  rapidly 
deteriorating  as  a  country  for  fish  and  game. 

STATISTICS. 

The  total  drainage  area  of  the  St.  John  River 
above  Andover  is  about  13,200  square  miles. 
This  estimate  is  somewhat  reduced  by  excluding 
the  AUagash  above  the  Chamberlain  dam.  Con- 
sidering the  South  or  Baker  Branch  as  the  prin- 
cipal source,  all  the  tributaries  entering  on  the 
left-hand  side  drain  collectively  7,617  square 
miles,   all   tributaries   entering   from   the   right- 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  85 

hand  side  5,488  square  miles.  It  is  a  peculiar 
feature  of  the  system  that  fourteen  large  tributa- 
ries enter  from  the  left  side,  and  only  three,  the 
AUagash,  Fish,  and  Aroostook  rivers,  from  the 
right.  All  the  streams  having  pure  transparent 
water  are  in  the  first  group. 

The  basin  of  the  St.  John  in  Maine  covers 
7,638  square  miles,  or  about  one  fourth  the  land 
surface  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Walter  Wells,  superintendent  of  the  hy- 
drographic  survey  in  Maine,  estimates  the  mean 
annual  discharge  of  the  Aroostook  at  81,900,000,- 
000  cubic  feet,  and  the  discharges  of  the  Great 
Fish  and  AUagash  rivers  at  34,710,000,000  and 
57,720,000,000  cubic  feet  respectively,  while  the 
whole  basin  of  the  St.  John  in  Maine  sheds  284,- 
000,000,000  cubic  feet  of  water  annually.  The 
Aroostook  basin  is  computed  to  contain  59.95 
square  miles  of  lake  surface,  Squapan  Lake 
(superficial  area  10  square  miles)  being  the  lar 
gest  body  of  water;  the  AUagash  basin  120.90 
square  miles.  Chamberlain  (20  square  miLis) 
being  the  largest  lake ;  Fish  River  basin  89 
square  miles,  with  individual  lake  areas  as  fol- 
lows, viz. :  Long  Lake,  19  square  miles ;  Square 
Lake,  15  ;  Eagle  Lake,  22  ;  Nadeau  Lake,  5.50  ; 
Portage  Lake,  8.50 ;  and  Great  Fish  Lake,  7 
square  miles ;  the  St.  Francis  basin,  36.65  square 
miles ;  and  the  whole  St.  John  basin  in  Maine, 
350  square  miles.     By  the  Chamberlain  dam  the 


86  THE  ST.    JOHN  RIVER. 

flowage  of  3G  square  miles  of  the  Allagash  lakes 
is  turned  southeasterly  into  the  Penobscot  River. 

FROM  ANDOVER  TO  WOODSTOCK. 

Between  Andover  and  Woodstock  (fifty  miles) 
the  St.  John  winds  about  from  east  to  west, 
and  west  to  east,  in  a  series  of  gentle  curves, 
the  general  course  remaining  north  and  south. 
It  is  everywhere  a  moderately  deep  and  very 
swiftly  flowing  river,  not  varying  greatly  in  width 
except  where  the  channel  separates  to  inclose  an 
island.  Many  natural  terraces  are  found,  often 
forming  banks  of  gravel  and  sand  from  thirty  to 
fifty  feet  high  ;  elsewhere  the  hills  slope  up  from 
the  water's  edge  to  a  considerable  height.  On 
both  terraces  and  slopes  the  land  is  fertile  and 
under  cultivation.  From  the  summit  of  Moose 
Mountain,  a  rugged  peak,  over  eight  hundred 
feet  high,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Muniac  stream, 
deriving  its  name  from  a  resemblance,  when 
viewed  at  a  distance,  to  the  body  and  hornless 
head  of  a  moose,  a  magnificent  view  may  be  ob- 
tained of  the  river,  winding,  for  many  miles,  like 
a  silvery  streak,  through  a  country  so  patched 
with  dark  spruce  forest,  and  cultivated  tracts  of 
a  lighter  green,  as  to  give  the  whole  scene  the 
appearance  of  a  gigantic  chess-board.  A  similar 
view  is  obtained  from  Stickney  Brook  ridge, 
nearly  opposite  Florenceville. 

Andover  village,  which  consists  of  a  long  row 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  8T 

of  pleasant  cottages  near  the  brink  of  a  terrace 
overlooking  the  river  and  the  picturesquely  wooded 
ridge  that  rises  abruptly  from  the  opposite  bank, 
is  the  dividing  point  between  the  English  and 
French  civilizations  of  Western  New  Brunswick. 
Having  passed  it,  on  our  downward  voyage,  we 
find  the  settled  country  not  so  much  confined  to 
the  river  valley  as  hitherto,  but  extending  for 
many  miles  to  the  eastward  and  westward.  A 
branch  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  follows 
the  east  bank  quite  closely,  utilizing  the  level 
table  lands  on  the  natural  terraces.  The  princi- 
pal villages  along  the  river  are  Kent,  Florence- 
ville,  Hartland,  and  Upper  Woodstock,  while 
Glassville,  Centreville,  and  other  small  distribu- 
ting centres  are  scattered  over  "  the  back  country." 
At  the  mouth  of  Hardwood  Creek  there  is  a  vil- 
lage bearing  the  unpoetical  name  of  "  Bumf  raw," 
a  rather  humorous  corruption  of  the  French 
^'bois  francher  Upper  Woodstock  is  called 
"  Hardscrabble,"  rather  ridiculously,  because  it  is 
a  "  hard  scrabble,"  or  difiicult  and  laborious  task, 
to  ascend  a  rapid  below  it. 

In  the  first  few  miles  below  Andover,  large 
masses  of  rock,  seemingly  detached,  rise  here  and 
there  above  the  river's  surface,  but  they  are  not 
surrounded  by  rough  water.  The  current  is  swift 
everywhere,  but  most  rapid  at  "Fitz  Herbert's 
Rips  "  (between  the  two  Guisiguit  rivers),  on  the 
channels  surrounding  Green  Island,  above  the  Big 


88  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVER. 

Presque  Isle  River,  and  from  the  Little  Presque 
Isle  to  Hartland  Bar. 

The  prinei2)al  streams  entering  from  the  west 
are  the  Riviere  du  Chute,  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Guisiguit,  and  the  Big  and  Little  Presque  Isle 
rivers ;  the  principal  ones  entering  from  the  east 
are  the  Muniac,  Monquart,  Shikitehawk,  and  Bec- 
caguimec  rivers.  The  Riviere  du  Chute  is  a 
small  stream  of  very  clear  water,  with  a  natural 
fall  at  the  mouth,  the  height  of  which  has  been 
reduced  from  sixty  to  eight  feet  by  long-continued 
erosive  action.  The  Monquart  and  Shikitehawk 
are  also  transparently  clear,  and  shoidd  be  good 
for  trout,  but  they  rise  in  a  very  mountainous 
country  near  the  sources  of  the  Odell  River 
(a  branch  of  the  Tobique)  and  the  Southwest 
Branch  of  the  Miramichi,  and  are  too  shallow  and 
rocky  for  a  convenient  ascent  by  canoe.  There 
is  a  rather  picturesque  ravine  and  fall  on  the 
Shikitehawk,  and  at  Kent  Station,  near  its  mouth, 
an  excellent  portage  road,  but  sixteen  miles  in 
lenoth,  connects  the  St.  John  River  with  the 
Miramichi  at  Foreston.  The  Miramichi  is  a 
famous  salmon  stream,  and  many  sportsmen  use 
this  road  annually  as  an  easy  way  of  reaching  it. 
The  Big  Presque  Isle  River  (not  to  be  confounded 
with  its  namesake  on  the  Aroostook)  is  a  goodly 
stream  of  clear  and  rapid  water,  running  forty 
miles,  and  more  or  less  navigable  by  canoe  for 
half  that  distance.     It  winds  around  Mars  Hill, 


< 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  89 

of  international  celebrity,  which  is  the  highest 
mountain  on  the  middle  St.  »Tohn  (1,600  feet), 
and  commands  an  unrivaled  view  of  the  country. 
Two  miles  below  Plartland  the  Little  Pokiok 
stream  emerges  from  a  cavernous  cleft  in  the 
rocks.  In  fact,  many  minor  brooks  along  this 
part  of  the  river,  and  Acker  Brook  especially, 
flow  for  some  distance  through  deep  ravines. 

Woodstock  (4,500)  is  the  third  city  in  size 
and  comme?  cial  importance  within  the  St.  eTohn 
River  valley.  It  contains  many  pleasing  private 
residences,  but  no  very  noteworthy  public  build- 
ings, and  is  the  trade  centre  for  the  populous 
agricultural  districts  of  Carleton  County. 

THE   BECCAGUIMEC   EIVER. 

At  Hartland  village,  twelve  miles  above 
Woodstock,  the  Beccaguimec  River  enters  the 
St.  John  from  the  east,  a  stream,  that  is,  in  its 
general  course,  the  most  crooked  of  all  the  tribu- 
taries, while  having  a  greater  descent  between 
source  and  mouth  than  any  other  branch  of  equal 
length.  It  is  more  or  less  "  canoeable  "  for  sev- 
enteen or  eighteen  miles,  the  rapid  descent  being 
largely  caused  by  a  few  falls  on  the  north  branch ; 
and  the  Coldstream,  a  tributary,  is  also  navigable 
at  medium  water.  The  north  and  south  branches 
flow  from  opposite  directions  for  fifteen  miles 
above  their  junction,  and  then  their  valleys  grad- 
ually approach  until  at  their  heads  they  overlap. 


90  THE  ST.  JOHN  lilVER. 

"  Guimoc  "  Luke,  the  source  of  the  south  branch, 
is  smuU  but  picturesque,  and  most  easily  reached 
from  Millville,  a  station  on  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway. 

In  1885  two  "cological  explorers  attempted  to 
reach  *'  Guiniec  "  Lake  by  wading  up  the  stream. 
Toiling  onward,  now  in  the  water,  now  in  the 
neighboring  swami)s,  wliile  the  miserable  brook 
dwindled  down  to  microscopical  prv)})()rtions,  they 
reached  a  great  morass,  and  still  no  lake  in 
sight.  A  rain  came  on,  no  light  one,  and  unable 
to  return  by  reason  of  approaching  darkness,  sup- 
perless,  shelterless,  wet  and  worn,  they  stretched 
iil)on  a  heap  of  rotten  wood,  composing  their 
weary  limbs  for  sleeplessness.  When  morning 
dawned  they  rose  much  unrefreshed,  and  shaking 
off  the  ants  and  centipedes  set  forth  for  Millville. 
It  was  a  most  inglorious  retreat. 

The  Beccaguimec  water  is  pure  and  clear,  and 
the  trout  fishing  on  the  north  branch  probably 
the  best  obtainable  between  Andover  and  Freder- 
icton. 

THE    MEDUXNIKEAG  RIVER. 

The  Meduxnikeag  River  (drainage  area  about 
420  square  miles),  which  unites  with  the  St.  John 
at  Woodstock,  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  two 
streams  of  nearly  equal  size  twelve  miles  above 
the  mouth,  one  flowing  southerly  from  the  Aroos- 
took watershed,  the  other  northerly  through  one 
of  the  richest  farming  districts  of  Maine.    Houston, 


THE  MIDDLE  i^T.  JOHN.  91 

an  iiinl)Itious  rival  of  Woodstock,  and  tlie  metrop- 
olis of  Aroostook  County,  is  situated  on  the  south 
branch.  Its  business  section  is  clustered  about 
an  open  S(piare,  from  whi(;h  pleasant  residential 
streets  extend  in  sevciral  directions. 

In  the  more  remote  country  districts  above 
Grand  Falls,  the  watercourses  aii'ord  the  most  con- 
venient or  only  routes  for  travel ;  consequently 
th'3  degree  of  each  stream's  *'  navigability  "  is  a 
matter  of  common  knowledge ;  but  below  Andover 
the  country  is  so  covered  by  a  network  of  roads, 
that  a  person  interested  in  any  stream  whose  cur- 
rent it  requires  a  more  or  less  experienced  poler 
to  overcome,  rather  prefers  to  walk  or  drive  there 
than  to  incur  fatigue  and  strain  his  canoe  in  the 
arduous  exercise  of  swinging  the  pole.  Especially 
is  this  true  of  the  Meduxnikeag,  but  the  possible 
canoeist  may  be  interested  in  learning  that  there 
is  a  waterfall  near  the  forks,  and  a  very  pretty 
valley  from  there  to  Woodstock. 

FROM    WOODSTOCK    TO    FREDERICTON. 

Quite  various  are  the  aspects  which  the  river 
presents  between  Woodstock  and  Fredericton,  a 
distance  of  sixty-three  miles.  Above  Eel  River 
the  current  is  everywhere  swift,  the  channel  often 
splitting  to  inclose  an  alluvial  island.  Indeed,  we 
find  no  islands  in  the  St.  John  above  Belleisle 
Bay  which  are  not  composed  purely  of  alluvium, 
or  glacial  drift.     The  hills  reach  a  considerable 


92  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

altitude  on  both  sides  of  the  valley,  although  the 
immediate  river  banks  are  neither  as  uniforndy 
abrupt  nor  as  stony  as  in  the  vicinity  of  Monquart 
and  Muniac  ;  hence  affording  better  facilities  for 
camping.  The  scenery  is  decidedly  jiicturesque, 
especially  for  ten  miles  below  Woodstock  and  the 
same  distance  above  Fredericton.  A  granite  belt 
crosses  the  valley  between  the  Eel  and  Nacawick 
rivers,  and  as  no  geological  formation  roughens  a 
country  like  a  granite  one,  whether  granite  i?i  situ 
or  granite  superficially  distributed  by  glacial  ac- 
tion, the  river  becomes  obstructed  by  ledges  and 
loose  lying  drift,  over  which  the  water  pours  in  a 
rapid  called  the  Meductic  Fall.  Canoes  may  de- 
scend without  inconvenience  by  keeping  well  to 
the  right-hand  bank,  and  the  Woodstock  steamer 
ascends  at  high  water.  In  fact  the  Meductic  is  a 
mere  pigmy  when  comj^ared  with  such  aquatic  to- 
boggan slides  as  endanger  navigation  above  the 
AUagash.  Below  the  fall  the  river  is  more  slug- 
gish and  much  deeper,  with  a  maximum  depth  of 
fifty-four  feet  at  Pokiok  Eddy,  measured  at  low 
water.  There  was  an  ancient  fort  above  Meduc- 
tic, on  the  west  bank,  and  near  it  an  Indian  burial 
ground,  the  site  of  which  is  now  overgrown  by 
hawthorn-trees. 

The  sharpest  and  most  peculiar  twist  in  the 
river  channel  below  Grand  Falls  is  the  Nacka- 
wick  Bend,  after  rounding  which  the  stream  runs 
perfectly  straight    for  eighteen  miles  in  a  wide 


THE  MIDDLE  ST,  JOHN.  93 

and  shallow  bed  filled  with  islands.  People 
sometimes  call  this  straight  course  the  Upper 
Reach,  as  it  is  of  e(pial  length  with  the  Long 
Reach  helow  Gagetown,  although  (piite  unlike 
in  every  other  rc^spect.  The  shallow  waters  and 
sand-bars,  though  accompanied  by  a  cpiickening 
of  the  current,  allow  teams  to  ford  the  channel 
in  various  places  during  the  summer  months. 
Horses  would  probably  have  to  swim  some  dis- 
tance in  crossing  elsewhere  below  Edmundston, 
unless  at  the  great  bar  near  Hartland.  At  the 
foot  of  the  Upper  Reach  the  river  turns  again, 
at  an  exact  right  angle ;  a  whirlpool,  known 
as  Burgoyne's  Eddy,  forming  at  high  water, 
near  the  right-hand  bank.  The  current  slackens 
very  much,  and  the  water  for  nine  miles  is  as 
deep  as  in  the  narrow  channel  below  Meductic ; 
then  the  whole  appearance  of  the  river  changes 
once  more.  The  Keswick  stream  enters  from  the 
north,  ten  miles  above  Fredericton,  and  below  it 
the  river  bed  is  literally  choked  with  islands  of 
all  dimensions,  and  divided  into  innumerable 
channels  of  varying  width,  depth,  and  rapidity. 
High  hills,  higher  than  any  we  have  seen  below 
Eel  River,  uprise  on  both  sides,  their  sloj^es  be- 
ing in  great  part  under  cultivation.  From  the 
various  summits,  and  more  especially  from  Rock- 
land Hill,  a  view  of  the  closely  clustered  Keswick 
Islands  is  obtained,  such  as  is  ever  appreciated, 
and  rarely    forgotten.      At   Sugar    Is' and,   the 


94  THE  ST,  JOHN  iuver. 

largest  of  tlio  group,  the  St.  John  measures  two 
miles  and  a  half  from  bank  to  bank,  its  greatest 
width  above  Fredericton.  Savage  Island,  the 
second  in  area,  was  a  famous  rendezvous  of  the 
Maliseets  in  early  days,  and  here  they  are  said  to 
have  been  attaeked  by  the  restless  Mohawks,  who 
descended  the  river  for  scalps  and  glory.  A 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  island  may  be  had  from 
Clarke's  or  Currie's  Mountain,  a  detached  pre- 
cipitous peak,  with  a  ravine  beliind,  where  many 
more  of  our  inoffensive  Maliseets  became  pre- 
maturely bald  at  the  touch  of  the  keen-edged 
tomahawk,  unless  tradition  lies.  All  the  islands 
are  low,  grassy,  and  fringed  with  elm-trees  and 
bushes,  and,  excepting  a  few  small  portions  of 
them,  annually  submerged  by  the  spring  floods. 
The  few  dry  spots  are  little  hummocks,  formed 
from  nothing  more  durable  than  the  common 
alluvium,  on  which  early  settlers  and  adventurous 
farmers  built  houses  occasionally  in  years  gone 
by.  How  they  must  have  enjoyed  the  spectacle 
of  the  spring  ice  roaring,  grinding,  and  crunching 
on  every  side,  and  momentarily  threatening  to 
pile  against  their  little  cottages  and  sweep  them 
ruthlessly  down-stream !  For  three  days,  at  least, 
these  farmers  on  the  knolls,  provided  they  had 
missed  the  last  opportunity  of  reaching  the  main 
land,  must  have  moved  in  a  social  circle  exclu- 
sively confined  to  members  of  their  own  fami- 
lies, —  a  sufficient  time  to  enable  our  friend,  Mr. 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  05 

ILirvey,  to  reach  civilization  from  his  log  honso 
on  the  Allagash.  Between  Sugar  and  Savage 
islands  the  principal  body  of  the  water  shifts 
from  the  southwest  to  the  northeast  side  of  the 
valley,  through  a  channel  called  the  Grand  Pas- 
sage, but  it  gradually  returns  before  reaching 
Fredericton. 

The  extraordinary  tides  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
influence  the  river  as  far  as  Chapel  Bar,  above 
Spring  Hill,  so  we  find  no  more  swift  currents. 
On  this  account  the  Fredericton  canoeists  are 
better  accustomed  to  the  paddle  than  the  pole. 

MINOR   TRIBUTARIES    BELOW   WOODSTOCK. 

We  now  return  to  Woodstock  to  see  what  trib- 
utarial  contributions  the  St.  J'  '  n  receives  between 
that  city  and  Fredericton.  The  principal  ones, 
briefly  enumerated,  are  as  follows :  from  the  left- 
hand  side,  Gibson's  Mill  Stream,  and  the  Nack- 
awick,  Koack,  Mactaquac,  Keswick,  and  Nash- 
waaksis  rivers;  from  the  right-hand  side,  Bull's 
Creek,  the  Eel,  Shogomoc,  and  Pokiok  rivers,  and 
Upper  Garden's  and  Long's  creeks.  The  highest 
fall  in  the  St.  John  River  system,  to  the  writer's 
knowledge  and  belief,  is  that  called  Hay's  Fall, 
on  a  small  brook  entering  the  main  river  midway 
between  Bull's  Creek  and  Eel  River.  Here  the 
water  takes  a  perpendicular  leap  of  ninety  feet 
from  a  rugged  cliff,  at  the  brow  and  base  of  which 
good  views  may  be  obtained.     A  thick  growth  of 


96  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVER, 

tall  spruces  and  firs  adds  picturesqueness,  but  the 
stream  is  unfortunately  so  small  as  to  disappear 
entirely  in  the  summer  season,  when  the  fall 
dwindles  gradually  down  to  a  collection  of  wet 
and  dripping  moss. 

Gibson's  Mill  Stream  is  very  much  larger,  and 
the  narrows,  three  miles  above  the  mouth,  con- 
taining a  series  of  rough  cascades  flanked  by  per- 
pendicular cliffs  of  a  great  but  as  yet  unmeasured 
height,  will  repay  a  visit  at  any  time.  As  was 
noted  of  Acker  Brook,  above  Woodstock,  a  very 
small  stream  may  have  a  very  deep  valley  of  ero- 
sion, a  fact  again  illustrated  by  the  presence  of  a 
deep  ravine  midway  between  Eel  and  Shogomoc 
rivers,  where  the  little  Sullivan's  Creek  trickles 
out  to  the  St.  John.  So  the  small  Koack  River 
has  eroded  a  chasm  so  dark  and  cavernous  that 
all  attempts  to  take  photographs  within  are  said 
to  fail  through  insufficiency  of  light.  The  shad- 
ows of  lofty  firs  and  spruces  contribute  materially 
to  the  gloom  of  this  romantic  spot.  Within  the 
chasm  there  is  a  fall,  perhaps  eighty  feet  in  height. 
Upper  and  Lower  Garden's  and  Kelly's  creeks 
all  have  picturesque  falls,  and  they  were  toler- 
ably good  trout  brooks  some  years  ago.  The 
Mactaquac  is  somewhat  larger,  and  has  two  prin- 
cipal tributaries,  one  flowing  from  Scotch  Lake  in 
Queensbury.  Its  lower  valley  presents  an  attrac- 
tive appearance,  but  the  upper  waters  are  rarely 
visited  by  sportsmen,  and  probably  unattainable 
by  canoe  in  the  fishing  season. 


THE  MIDDLE  ST   JOHN.  97 

EEL    RIVER. 

Eel  River  rises  in  a  small  pond,  called  the  Third 
Eel  River  Lake,  near  Skiff  Lake,  the  source  of  a 
branch  of  the  St.  Croix.  It  drains  an  area  of  two 
hundred  and  thirty  square  miles,  probably  deriv- 
ing its  name  from  the  crooked  course  it  takes 
while  doing  so.  The  first  of  the  three  Eel  River 
lakes  is  the  largest,  receiving  the  overflow  of  the 
second  through  a  small  unnavigable  stream  of 
very  rapid  descent.  From  the  first  lake  to  Ben- 
ton village  navigation  by  canoe  is  comparatively 
easy,  although  short  portages  are  necessary  around 
two  waterfalls,  one  a  few  miles  below  the  lake, 
the  other  at  Dinnen's  Mill,  above  the  mouth  of  a 
tributary  oddly  named  Pok'o'moonshine  Brook. 
Some  people  say  that  "  Pok'o'moonshine"  is  of 
Indian  origin,  and  others  that  "  pok  "  is  an  abbre- 
viation of  "  poke,"  meaning  a  ray,  as  a  "  poke  of 
light."  The  existence  of  a  lake  called  Sunpoke 
on  the  Oromocto  River  has  a  decided  tendency  to 
support  the  latter  view.  In  early  times  Eel  River 
was  a  much  used  thoroughfare  between  the  St. 
John  and  the  St.  Croix,  a  portage  of  three  miles, 
called  Metagmuckschesh,  connecting  it  with  North 
Lake,  the  head  of  the  Chiputnetecook  chain. 
Metagmuckschesh  has  been  a  great  Indian  road 
for  centuries,  various  reputable  writers  asserting 
that  the  flat  rocks  (a  coarse  granite),  over  which 
the  narrow  file  of  Indians  passed,  have  been  worn 


98  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

to  a  depth  of  several  ii  'lies  by  the  tread  of  moc- 
casined  feet.  Mr.  Frederick  Kidder,  in  his  work 
on  "Military  operations  in  Eastern  Maine  and 
Nova  Scotia  during  the  Revolution,"  says  of  this 
pathway:  "It  has  undoubtedly  been  used  for 
many  centuries,  and  may  be  pronounced  the  most 
ancient  evidence  of  mankind  in  New  England." 
In  1777,  Col.  John  Allen,  attended  by  about  five 
hundred  Indians  and  colonists,  a  majority  of  whom 
were  women  and  children,  ascended  Eel  River  and 
crossed  Metagmuckshcesh  to  North  Lake,  depart- 
ing from  Fort  Meductic  on  the  13th  day  of  July. 
The  lower  course  of  Eel  River  is  obstructed  by 
falls  and  rapids,  on  which  account  the  Indians  car- 
ried their  canoes  overland  from  Meductic  to  Ben- 
ton (five  miles)  when  journeying  westward  from 
the  St.  John  to  the  St.  Croix  and  Matawamkeag 
via  Metagmuckschesh,  but  frequently  descended 
the  stream  when  traveling  the  opposite  way. 

The  pickerel,  a  veritable  fresh -water  shark, 
seems  to  have  received  in  the  First  Eel  River  Lake 
its  primary  introduc^ion  to  the  waters  of  the  St. 
John,  whence  it  has  spread  over  all  the  lower  trib- 
utaries, wherever  the  current  is  sluggish,  proving 
an  inveterate  foe  to  many  other  fishes,  more  espe- 
cially to  trout.  Its  fondness  for  the  trout  prob- 
ably arises  from  the  fact  of  their  being  scaleless, 
and  consequently  more  "  swallowable."  Luckily 
the  pickerel  dislikes  rapid  water,  and  is  seldom 
found  in  the  St.  John  above  Eel  River. 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOUN.  99 

THE   SHOGOMOC   RIVER. 

The  Sliogomoc  River,  although  within  the 
region  of  granite,  is  navigable  from  a  short  dis- 
tance above  the  mouth.  At  the  mouth  we  find  it 
a  most  tumultuous  torrent,  rushing  among,  and 
tumbling  over,  a  typical  collection  of  ledges  and 
granitic  bowlders.  There  are  innumerable  lakes 
on  the  stream  (Great  Shogomoc  Lake  being  very 
much  the  largest),  and  several  of  them  are  abun- 
dantly stocked  with  trout.  The  Shogomoc  rises 
near  the  Palfrey  Mountains,  and  Canterbury 
Station,  on  the  Woodstock  branch  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway,  is  the  most  convenient 
starting  point  for  persons  desirous  of  visiting  the 
upper  waters. 

THE  POKIOK   RIVER. 

The  word  "  Pokiok  "  is  said  to  mean  "  narrow 
opening,"  and  we  certainly  find  on  this  river  a 
very  narrow  opening.  Barely  twenty-five  feet 
apart,  but  from  fifty  to  seventy  feet  high,  and 
accurately  perpendicular,  are  tiie  dark  red  granite 
walls  that  inclose  the  Pokiok  near  its  confluence 
with  the  St.  John.  Within  this  strange  chasm 
the  water  makes  a  series  of  leaps,  aggregating 
about  seventy-five  feet  in  height,  and  roars  and 
foams  most  furiously.  In  the  flood  season  the 
scene  presented  is  intensely  picturesque,  more 
especially  as  in  driving  along  the  Woodstock  road 


100  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

one  cannot  see  the  ravine  until  almost  directly 
over  it.  A  sluiceway  has  been  constructed  for  the 
passage  of  planks  from  the  mill,  down  which  an 
elderly  "Pokiokean,"  whose  valor  is  at  least  on  a 
par  with  his  discretion,  rides  frequently  on  floating 
timber,  for  the  moderate  remuneration  of  twenty- 
five  cents  per  trip.  When  paddling  down  the  St. 
John  ill  early  spring  a  blast  of  cold  air  is  felt, 
which  proceeds  directly  fro?ii  the  Pokiok  gorge, 
and  is  laden  with  the  peculiar  odor  of  the  fall. 

The  general  course  of  the  river,  from  the  source 
in  Lake  George,  is  almost  exactly  parallel  to  that 
of  the  St.  John,  while  the  flow  is  in  the  opposite 
direction.  By  portaging  five  miles  from  Lower 
Prince  William  to  the  lake,  a  down-stream  cir- 
cuit can  be  made  (similar  to  that  of  the  Fish  or 
Madawaska  rivers,  although  much  shorter),  the 
stream  being  readily  navigable  for  canoes,  and 
quite  sluggish  in  places. 

Three  "  Pokioks "  are  found  in  the  St.  John 
River  system.  Two  have  the  narrow  opening 
which  the  name  is  said  to  signify,  but  the  third, 
a  brook  entering  the  Tobique  four  miles  above 
Indian  Point,  and  not  previously  mentioned,  has 
but  a  simple  fall  at  the  mouth,  which  I  found  by 
barometric  observation  to  be  forty-five  feet  in 
height. 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  101 

THE   NACKAWICK   RIVER. 

The  Nackawick  River  (drainage  area  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  square  miles)  enters  the  St.  John 
from  the  northeast,  three  miles  below  Pokiok. 
It  has  three  principal  branches,  all  flowing  from 
the  same  watershed  that  produces  the  Beccagui- 
mee  and  Keswick  rivers.  A  line  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  crosses  two  branches,  and 
on  the  southeast  or  principal  one  we  find  Mill- 
ville,  an  important  centre  for  the  local  lumber 
trade.  The  Nackawick  is  unadapted  for  practical 
canoeing,  and  little  would  be  gained  by  visiting 
the  upper  waters,  except  for  the  purpose  of  hook- 
ing small  trout,  which  abound  in  most  of  them. 

THE   KESWICK   RIVER. 

The  valleys  of  the  Keswick  and  Mactaquac  are 
separated  by  Keswick  Ridge,  which  terminates  at 
the  St.  John  River  in  a  precipitous  cliff  called 
"•  The  Peddler's  Leap."  The  Keswick  stream  rises 
near  Beccaguimec  Lake,  previously  mentioned, 
and  runs  forty  miles,  emptying  into  the  channel 
behind  Sugar  Island. 

So  well  watered  is  the  basin  of  the  St.  John, 
that  it  would  be  quite  impossible  to  find  a  tract 
of  land  four  miles  square  not  traversed  by  some 
brook  or  rivulet,  and  several  different  rivers 
always  flow  from  every  well-defined  watershed. 
Thus,  in  the  case  before  us,  the  Keswick,  Nacka- 


102  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

wick  and  Beccaguimec  all  rise  in  a  locality  the 
central  point  of  which  is  twenty-five  miles  east  of 
Woodstock,  but  the  mouths  of  the  Keswick  and 
Beccaguimec  are  sixty-five  miles  apart,  measured 
along  the  valley  of  the  St.  John.  The  common 
watershed  is  an  undulating  country,  traversed 
here  and  there  by  well-defined  ridges,  dotted  with 
small  lakes,  and  clad  in  a  luxuriant  greenwood 
forest.  It  is  the  border  of  New  Brunswick's 
greatest  wilderness,  a  vast  region,  untenanted  by 
other  than  the  ferce  naturm  of  our  common  law, 
extending  northeastward,  without  a  break,  to  the 
Intercolonial  Railway  and  the  valley  of  the  Res- 
tigouche  River. 

The  Keswick's  principal  branches  unite  twen- 
ty-two miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  stream, 
and  below  their  confluence  the  valley  gradually 
widens,  finally  becoming  a  fertile  and  thickly 
inhabited  farming  country.  Two  large  tributa- 
ries enter  from  the  east.  The  stream  is  navigable 
by  canoe,  except  in  the  dry  season,  with  just 
enough  rough  water  to  make  things  cheerful ;  and 
the  railway  follows  nearly  all  its  countless  mean- 
derings.  It  is  not  prominent  among  the  fishing 
rivers,  but  small  trout  abound  in  the  upper 
waters.  ^ 

THE    NASHWAAKSIS    RIVER.  r 

The  Nashwaaksis  has  three  principal  branches, 
all  uniting  within  a  third  of  a  mile,  after  the  fash- 
ion of  the  Touladi  and  Tobique,  and  below  the 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOtlN.  103 

forks  is  navigable,  generally  speaking,  when  the 
Keswick  is.  It  contains  many  deep  pools,  which 
would  naturally  harbor  trout  of  very  fair  dimen- 
sions, but  the  small-boy  crop  in  this  vicinity  is 
large,  and  small  boys,  here  as  elsewhere,  take 
much  delight  in  fishing.  The  east  branch  has  a 
very  pretty  symmetrical  fall,  about  fourteen  feet 
high,  with  a  deep  and  thickly  wooded  ravine  be- 
low. Above  the  fall  are  the  wild  meadows,  where 
myriads  of  small  trout  are  hooked  every  twenty- 
fourth  of  May.  McLeod's  Bluff,  a  bold  face  of 
volcanic  rock  with  a  huge  talus  at  the  base,  over- 
looks the  stream  below  the  forks,  and  for  an 
equal  distance  above  the  mouth  the  water  is  still, 
and  the  banks  overgrown  with  leafy  trees  that 
cast  their  perfect  reflections  upon  its  surface. 
Here  the  yoimg  "  Frederictonian "  paddles  his 
"  best  girl  "  on  moonlight  evenings,  and  the  stilly 
air  is  often  laden  with  the  murmur  of  suppressed 
voices,  blended  with,  and  occasionally  interrupted 
by,  the  buzz  of  the  unceremonious  mosquito. 

FREDERICTON. 

Emerging  from  the  narrow  opening  of  the  Nash- 
waaksis  we  see  before  us  the  roofs  and  spires  of 
Fredericton,  the  political,  legal,  and  educational 
centre  of  New  Brunswick,  second  in  industrial  im- 
portance, and  first  in  natural  beauty  of  location, 
of  the  various  communities  within  the  St.  John 
River  valley.      The  site  of  the  city  is  a  flat  dilu- 


104  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVER. 

vial  plain,  two  miles  in  length  by  one  in  width, 
laved  by  the  river,  and  backed  by  wooded  hills. 
The  streets  are  broad  and  regular,  .iiose  parallel 
with  the  water  having  been  named  after  the  reign- 
ing sovereigns  at  the  time  of  the  town's  rncorpo- 
ration.  Queen  and  King  streets  are  nearest  the 
river  bank,  Charlotte  and  George  the  most  remote, 
and  Brunswick  in  the  centre,  the  group  thus  form- 
ing the  combination:  "Queen  Charlotte  (and) 
King  George  (of  the  house  of)  Brunswick." 

Fredericton  is  justly  termed  ''  The  Forest  City  " 
from  the  number  and  beauty  of  its  shade  trees. 
The  elms  attain  a  loftiness  and  graceful  symmetry 
but  rarely  found,  while  willows  of  gigantic  size 
adorn  the  water  front  in  many  places.  Almost  at 
the  upper  end  of  the  flat,  and  opposite  the  Nash- 
waaksis,  stands  Government  House,  the  official 
residence  of  nearly  all  New  Brunswick's  governors, 
an  historic  pile,  thoroughly  suggestive  of  the  pre- 
confederate  aristocracy.  The  cathedral,  a  beauti- 
ful Gothic  edifice,  modeled  after  the  parish  church 
at  Sandringham  in  England,  is  also  near  the  river, 
while  half  way  up  the  hill  behind  the  town  stands 
the  University  of  New  Brunswick,  formerly,  and 
much  more  appropriately,  termed  "King's  Col- 
lege." Among  the  more  historic  buildings  are  the 
officers'  barracks,  which  overlook  a  level  willow- 
shaded  lawn,  much  used  in  peace  for  tennis,  and 
in  war  for  drill. 

The  number  and  beauty  of  the  landed  estates 


o 

•J 

■A 

a 

'A 
X 
A 

uT 

t/1 

D 
O 


■A 
> 
O 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  '      105 

cannot  fail  to  attract  attention.  Scattered  about 
on  plain  and  hillside,  within  the  town,  without 
the  town,  we  find  them  everywhere :  broad  acres, 
spreading  in  grassy  fields,  and  lawns,  and  fertile 
garden  lots.  Some  tottering  chimneys  near  the 
river  bank  denote  the  site  of  Rose  Hall,  a  transi- 
tory asylum  of  the  traitor  Arnold  subsequent  to 
his  discovery  and  inglorious  northward  flight ; 
while  at  the  western  apex  of  the  city  flat,  faced  by 
the  water,  and  shadowed  by  lofty  pines,  appears 
the  ruined  Hermitage. 

.  Fredericton  has  been  visited  by  several  de- 
structive conflagrations.  In  1825  the  Govern- 
ment House,  with  scores  of  shops  and  dwellings, 
was  laid  in  ruins.  The  great  fire  of  1850  proved 
equally  calamitous. 

On  the  twenty-second  day  of  February,  1785, 
Sir  Guy  Carleton  made  it  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, when  the  ancient  name  "  St.  Anne's "  was 
changed  to  "Frederick  Town"  in  honor  of  His 
Royal  Highness,  the  Bishop  of  Osnaburg. 

THE  NASHWAAK  RIVER. 

The  Nashwaak,  running  about  seventy-five 
miles,  and  draining  five  hundred  and  eighty  square 
miles,  is  somewhat  larger  than  any  tributary 
stream  we  have  passed  below  the  Tobique.  It 
flows  from  St.  Mary's  Lake,  a  remote  little  body  of 
water  much  more  easily  reached  by  a  portage  of  a 
few  miles  from  the  valley  of  the  Southwest  Mira- 


lOG  THE  ST.  JOUN  lilVER. 

miclii  than  l)y  ascending  the  river  to  which  it  gives 
rise.  Indeed,  it  has  been  stated,  by  one  familiar 
with  the  successive  explorations  of  Central  New 
Bmnswick,  that  nobody  ever  succeeded  in  tracing 
the  Nashwaak  sireani  upwards  to  the  lake.  This, 
if  true,  is  probably  because  the  country  in  tluj 
vicinity  of  the  lake  resend)les  that  surrounding 
the  sources  of  the  Napadogan  stream,  a  principal 
tributary,  entering  from  the  east,  twelve  miles 
above  Stanley.  The  writer  visited  the  east  branch 
of  the  Napadogan  in  1885,  and  found  tliere  some 
extensive  morasses,  covered  with  a  thick  scrubby 
growth,  as  difficult  to  walk  through  as  deep  snow, 
and  presenting  a  weird  and  gloomy  appearance. 
The  stream  was  divided  occasionally  into  several 
channels,  and  the  various  members  of  the  party 
became  separated,  and  were  only  united  again 
after  much  shouting  and  some  hours  spent  in 
struggling  aindessly  through  the  swamp. 

As  instances  of  a  curious  nomenclature  often 
found  in  the  St.  John  River  system,  we  have 
mentioned  "  Bumfraw  "  and  "  Pok'o'moon  shine  " 
Brook,  and  the  Nashwaak  country  is  by  no  means 
lacking  in  odd  names.  Thus  one  of  the  most 
northerly  tributaries,  entering  some  ten  miles 
below  the  lake,  is  very  comically  named  "  Dough- 
boy Brook  "  by  the  lumbermen,  in  commemora- 
tion of  a  camp  spree,  when  the  men  pelted  each 
other  with  no  less  adhesive  a  commodity  than  soft 
dough.     A  few  miles  below  this,  where  the  river 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  107 

abruptly  chanf^cs  course  from  south  to  east,  eutcr 
two  streams  which  are  s})okeii  of  coUeetively  as 
''The  Sisters,"  but  individually  as '* Miss  Nash- 
waak"  and  "Sister  Ann." 

Fourteen  miles  above  Stanley,  a  little  lake 
connects  with  the  main  Nashwaak  by  a  short 
thoroughfare,  and  innnediately  below  the  river  is 
danuiied  for  Imnbering  purposes.  In  the  pool 
below  the  dam  small  trout  are  as  numerous  as 
can  be.  At  the  Narrows,  also,  some  seven  miles 
above,  we  may  angle  successfully  for  these  sport- 
ive speckled  beauties.  There  we  find  the  rough- 
est rapids  on  the  river.  The  Napadogan  stream, 
which  is  one  of  the  largest  tributaries,  flows 
entirely  within  the  wilderness,  is  navigable,  but 
not  easily  so,  for  canoes  at  medium  water,  and 
abounds  with  small  trout.  Rocky  Brook  rises  in 
a  bleak  morass  similar  to  that  of  the  Napadogan. 
Grand  John  Brook,  which  enters  the  Nashwaak 
from  the  south,  and  bears  the  name  of  an  old 
Indian  who  hunted  at  one  time  on  all  these 
waters,  literally  teems  with  small  trout,  but  the 
narrowness  of  the  channel  makes  it  difficult  to 
cast  a  fly  with  precision. 

Civilization,  that  is  to  say  settlement,  has  ad- 
vanced thirty-four  miles  up  the  Nashwaak.  At 
Stanley  village,  which  is  picturesquely  perched 
on  a  hill  slope,  overlooking  the  valley,  we  find 
some  houses  partially  constructed  with  imported 
timber,  the  people  of  old  England  formerly  labor- 


108  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVER. 

ing  under  a  slight  misapprehension  regarding  the 
extent  of  available  woodland  in  the  New  World. 
Stanley  has  a  population  of  five  hundred,  which 
is  doubled  on  election  days  and  other  auspicious 
occasions. 

Below  Stanley  the  stream  is  everywhere  navi- 
gable for  canoes  under  ordinary  conditions ;  the 
valley  is  continuously  settled,  and  fully  as  pic- 
turesque as  that  of  any  other  tributary  of  the  St. 
John.  Large  trout  frequent  the  stream,  an  oc- 
casional one  turning  the  scales  at  three  pounds ; 
but  the  most  experienced  angler  can  never  be 
sure  of  a  catch,  so  shy  are  they.  A  famous  pool 
is  that  at  the  mouth  of  Lower  McBean's  Brook, 
The  river  gradually  increases  in  volume,  receiv- 
ing from  the  east  the  Budogan,  or  Cross  Creek, 
the  Undenack,  or  Upper  McBean's  Brook,  Lower 
McBean's  Brook,  Manzer's  Creek,  and  the  Pen- 
nioc;  and  receiving  from  the  west  Tay  Creek 
and  the  Dunbar  or  Cleuristic  stream.  The  trout 
in  Cross  Creek  and  the  Undenack  are  numerous, 
although  quite  small,  but  on  the  Tay,  which  is 
the  longest  tributary,  and  "  canoeable  "  at  certain 
times,  a  few  large  fish  may  be  taken.  Precipitate 
bluffs  of  sandstone  crop  out  on  the  Undenack, 
above  and  below  McKenzie's  Brook,  and  in  the 
talus  beneath  one  of  them,  large  but  imperfect 
lepidodendrons  and  other  fossilized  plants  of  the 
Carboniferous  era  lie  strewn  about  profusely. 
The    Cleuristic   .divides    two    miles    above    the 


THE  MIDDLE  ST.  JOHN.  109 

« 

mouth,  the   principal   branch  being  called   Tin 

Kettle  Brook,  and  one  mile  from  the  Nashwaak 

.  ...  i 

it  has  a  very  symmetrical  foU,  of  similar  dimen- 
sions to  that  on  the  east  branch   of   the   Nash-       • 
waaksis.     The  Pennioc  is  the  most  sluggish  of  all 
these  waters,  and  navigable  for  canoes  about  eight 
miles,  where  it  flows   through   a   thickly-settled        ! 
valley,  possessed   of  much  rural  beauty.     Once       ' 
the  stream  excelled  all  others  for  trout  fishing,       ^ 
except  perhaps  the   Tay;  and   even  now,  over- 
fished as  it  is,  the  angler   occasionally  becomes 
the  happy  possessor  of  a  much  larger  trout  than 
he  ever  even  dreamed  of  catching  there. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Pennioc  we  find  a  very 
large  alluvial  island,  strangely  large  to  be  in- 
closed by  a  river  of  no  greater  volume  than  the 
Nashwaak.  Marysville,  two  miles  below  this, 
which  is  the  metropolis  of  the  Nashwaak  valley, 
is  a  thoroughly  one-man  place,  as  much  so  as  \ 
Pullman,  Illinois,  its  mushroom  growth  being  en- 
tirely due  to  the  enterprise  of  Mr.  Gibson,  who 
controls  the  Nashwaak  lumber  trade  and  manu- 
factures cotton.  A  strange  contrast  is  presented 
by  the  high  brick  walls  of  the  cotton-mill,  backed, 
as  they  are,  by  a  greenwood  forest  which  extends 
without  a  break  to  the  horizon,  a  very  sea  of  con- 
ical treetops.  Indeed,  a  straight  line  may  be 
drawn  through  this  forest  from  a  point  two  miles 
from  Fredericton  that  will  not  cross  any  road  or 
settlement  between  the  St.  John  River  valley  and 


110  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

the  Intercolonial  Railway,  and  a  similar  line 
from  the  northwest  branch  of  the  Nashwaaksis 
to  the  Restigouche  River.  It  would  be  interest- 
ing to  compare  the  area  of  this  huge  wilderness 
with  that  of  the  similar  one  surrounding  the 
sources  of  the  St.  John  and  AUagash  rivers. 

The  Nashwaak  was  said  to  be,  many  years  ago, 
navigable  for  wood  boats  below  Marysville,  and 
subsequently  shallowed  by  deposits  of  silt  and 
sawdust.  Newspapers  of  1860  mourn  the  deteri- 
oration of  the  once  excellent  trout  fishing  off  the 
bar  at  the  mouth,  where  now  the  water  is  barely 
deep  enough  to  float  a  canoe  in  midsummer. 
Certainly  there  would  be  as  much  wisdom  to-day 
in  trying  to  shoot  a  mastodon  on  the  upper  Pen- 
nioc  as  in  attempting  to  capture  trout  with  a  fly 
off  Nashwaak  Bar. 

At  Heron  Lake,  two  and  one  half  miles  from 
Fredericton,  some  interesting  glacial  phenomena 
may  be  seen.  The  water  now  flows  into  the 
Nashwaaksis,  but  the  lake  is  merely  held  in  place 
by  a  narrow  and  steep-sided  moraine  of  glacial 
drift,  separating  it  from  a  deeply-wooded  ravine 
that  extends  eastward  into  the  Nashwaak  valley. 
Probably  Heron  Lake  was  once  the  source  of  Hot 
Water  Creek,  a  tortuous  little  stream  branching 
from  the  Nashwaak  half  a  mile  above  the  mouth, 
with  deep  sluggish  water,  where  perch  and  pick- 
erel roam  in  shoals,  sheltering  beneath  the  grass 
and  lily-pads. 


CHAFTEK  IV. 

THE   LOWER  ST.  JOHN. 
FROM   FREDERICTON   TO   GAGETOWN. 

The  physical  features  of  the  St.  John  alter 
greatly  in  the  thirty-four  miles  between  Frederic- 
ton  and  Gagetown.  Nowhere  else  is  the  sur- 
rounding land  so  low,  and  on  the  east  a  mere 
alluvial  flat  of  great  extent  separates  its  waters 
from  those  drained  by  the  Jemseg.  Every  indi- 
cation shows  that  this  country  was  once  the  bed 
of  a  great  lake,  nearly  triangular  in  form,  with  its 
apex  at  Salmon  River  and  its  base  line  along  the 
valley  of  the  St.  John.  The  greatest  length  and 
breadth  of  the  lake  must  have  been  about  the 
same,  a&  the  distance  from  Nashwaak  to  Jemseg 
(thirty-five  miles)  nearly  equals  that  from  Oro- 
mocto  to  the  head  of  the  lowland  on  Salmon 
River.  A  log,  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation, 
was  discovered  at  a  depth  of  twenty-four  feet  from 
the  surface  of  this  alluvium  bed,  about  opposite 
Oromocto,  and,  as  twenty  feet  is  the  difference 
to-day  between  the  top  of  the  flat  and  low-water 
mark,  it  would  seem  to  have  been  deposited  at 
a  time  when  sediment  first  began  to  form  in  the 
old  lake  basin.     Who  can  say  what  portion  of  the 


112  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

rock  eroded  from  the  several  gorges  of  the  St. 
John,  Aroostook,  and  Tobique  now  enters  into 
the  composition  of  the  Maugerville  flat?  There 
were  a  few,  if  not  many,  islands  in  the  ancient 
lake,  including  the  cup-shaped  wooded  mound 
below  the  Nashwaak.  The  currents  of  the  St. 
John,  flowing  southeasterly,  met  those  of  the 
Grand  Lake  watershed,  flowing  southwesterly, 
and  the  most  natural  place  for  the  deposit  of  silt 
and  detritus  was  along  the  line  of  their  junction, 
where  we  find  the  fiuviatile  deposits  of  to-day. 
Maugerville^  and  Sheffield  parishes  are  among  the 
earliest  settled  districts  on  the  St.  John ;  the  land 
is  exceedingly  rich,  and  annually  manured  by  the 
silt-bearing  freshets.  It  is  an  extraordinary  fact 
that  some  of  the  farmers  obtain  a  crop  of  vegeta- 
bles and  a  crop  of  fish  from  the  same  piece  of 
ground  annually. 

The  current  is  sluggish  at  low-water,  but  every- 
where perceptible,  between  Chapel  Bar  and  Gage- 
town,  and  naturally,  on  nearing  the  coast,  the  ebb 
and  flow  of  the  fresh-water  tide  increases.  In 
most,  if  not  all,  rivers  of  any  volume,  with  estuary 
mouths,  the  current  is  continued  much  beyond  the 
point  of  tide  level  by  the  pressure  of  water  above, 
and  what  has  been  said  of  the  St.  John  is  strik- 
ingly true,  on  a  much  larger  scale,  of  the  Amazon 
and  Congo. 

The  village  of  Oromocto,  although  small,  is  the 
shire-town  of   Simbury  County.      Travelers  say 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN.  113 

that  the  potato  is  the  current  medium  of  exchange 
there,  but  this  is  hearsay,  and  needs  verification. 

Oromocto  was  anciently  an  Indian  resort,  and 
the  husbandman  sometimes  exposes  a  grave,  or 
implements  of  stone  and  pottery,  while  working 
in  the  field.  The  Burton  court-house,  a  few  miles 
below  the  village,  commands  an  unrivaled  view 
of  the  river,  with  the  great  intervale  islands,  and 
the  Maugerville  flat  beyond. 

Gagetown,  diminutive  as  it  is,  was,  until  re- 
cently, one  of  the  largest  communities  in  eastern 
North  America  unconnected  with  the  outside  world 
by  rail  or  telegraph.  In  front  flows  Gagetown 
Creek,  a  sluggish  stream  connecting  Hart's  and 
Coy's  lakes  with  the  river.  Grimross  Neck,  be- 
tween the  river  and  creek,  has  now  become  Grim- 
ross Island  by  the  excavation  of  a  short  canal, 
which,  if  we  except  the  canal  connecting  Telos 
Lake  with  Webster  Brook  on  the  Penobscot,  and 
Morrow's  little  "  dugway  "  on  the  Oromocto,  prob- 
ably forms  the  only  artificial  diversion  of  water, 
for  the  facilitation  of  navigation,  on  the  St.  John 
or  its  tributaries. 

THE    OROMOCTO    RIVER. 

The  Oromocto  (Deep  River)  has  two  principal 
branches  which,  emanating  from  large  lakes  about 
twenty-five  miles  apart,  unite  twenty  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  stream,  and  it  flows  almost  sixty 
miles  from  the  source  of  the  north  branch,  and 


114  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

drains  eight  hundred  and  ten  square  miles.  North 
Branch  Lake,  one  of  the  largest  lakes  in  the  St. 
John  system,  is  nine  miles  long  by  two  and  one 
half  broad,  a  low  flat  country  surrounding  it,  where 
the  scenery  is  not  very  picturesque.  Tweedside 
settlement  extends  along  the  northwestern  shore  ; 
elsewhere  the  forest  touches  the  beach.  An  at- 
tractive spot  is  the  White  Sand  Cove,  a  shallow 
bay  of  pure  transparent  water  with  a  bottom  and 
beach  of  clean  light-colored  sand,  where  clusters 
of  wild  rosebushes  grow  just  above  high-water 
mark,  a  tiny  rivulet  babbling  through  them  on  its 
way  to  the  lake.  Good  fishing  may  be  had,  at 
times,  in  the  White  Sand  Cove ;  for  large  trout, 
while  rapidly  diminishing  in  number,  still  fre- 
quent the  North  Branch  Lake.  A  better  place  for 
small  trout  is  at  the  southwestern  end,  where  a 
deadwater  brook  enters,  navigable  for  canoes. 

All  geographers  assert  that  the  overflow  of  tlm 
lake  found  an  exit  through  this  brook,  pre-gla- 
cially,  into  the  Magaguadavic  River,  but  two  miles 
distant,  and  that  the  Oromocto  water  to-day  is  on 
a  level  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  above  that 
river's  bed.  But  how  can  this  be  so,  when  the 
north  branch  of  the  Oromocto  is  navigable  almost 
everywhere  for  canoes,  and  reaches  tide  level  at 
the  forks,  after  running  but  twenty-five  miles; 
while  the  Magaguadavic,  below  the  supposed 
brook  outlet,  is  fifty  miles  long,  with  two  large 
falls   on   it?     There  is  certainly   a   discrepancy 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN.  115 

somewhere  that  local  geologists  will  please  ex- 
plain. 

From  the  southern  end  of  Oromocto  Lake  a 
portage  of  three  mihis  leads  to  Big  Kedron  Lake 
on  the  Magaguadavic.  The  Jaws  Basin,  where  the 
north  branch  emanates,  is  probably  named  from 
its  indented  coast  line ;  and  south  of  this  a  wooded 
peninsula,  erroneously  called  "Kelly's  Island," 
connects  with  the  mainland  by  a  narrow  isthmus 
of  sand.  The  north  branch  receives  the  Lyon 
Stream,  the  Yoho  River,  flowing  from  Lake 
Erina,  Hardwood  Creek,  and  Porcupine  Brook. 
In  the  bed  of  the  stream  a  flat  rock  appears,  cov- 
ered with  ancient  Indian  inscriptions,  similar  in 
general  character  to  those  so  commonly  foimd  at 
Fairy  Lake  in  Nova  Scotia. 

The  south  branch  of  the  Oromocto  issues  from 
a  lake  five  miles  in  length,  an  excellent  water  for 
large  trout,  situated  in  the  rough  wilderness  of 
northeastern  Charlotte  County,  near  the  source 
of  the  Lepreaux.  It  flows  in  part  through  an 
ancient  lake  basin,  where  the  soil  is  a  fertile  allu- 
vium, receiving  Sand  Brook  and  Shin  and  Back 
creeks,  all  goodly  streams.  Canoes  may  ascend 
at  ordinary  water,  but  with  some  difficulty,  and  at 
least  one  portage,  that  around  the  fall,  is  neces- 
sary. 

The  northern  rivers  seem  to  have  a  much  more 
constant  water  supply  than  those  near  the  Bay  of 
Fundy.     Such  streanas  as  the  Meruimpticook  and 


116  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

Quisibis  may  bo  navigated  at  times  when  the 
South  Oromocto  and  Nerepis,  draining  equal 
areas,  have  actually  dwindled  down  to  nothing. 

The  deadwater  so  characteristic  of  the  Oro- 
mocto begins,  on  the  north  branch,  below  the  nat- 
ural fall  at  Hart's  Mill ;  on  the  south  branch, 
below  Back  Creek,  and  extends  uninterruptedly 
to  the  mouth.  There  seems  to  be  something  a 
little  uncanny  about  this  river.  The  water  has 
a  peculiar  warmth,  and,  although  the  current  is 
imperceptible,  freezes  later  than  the  St.  John 
River,  which  it  so  affects  that  the  ice  below  the 
mouth  of  the  tributary  stream  makes  an  earlier 
start  in  spring  than  the  ice  above.  Instead  of  the 
Oromocto  rushing  along  to  unite  with  the  St. 
John,  like  other  tributaries  in  the  flood  season, 
the  St.  John  waters  pour  up  the  Oromocto  and 
flood  the  lowlands  until  a  lake  is  formed,  thirty 
or  forty  square  miles  in  area.  An  amusing  story 
is  told  of  a  man,  who  was  "  on  the  limits,"  being 
carried  away  by  this  forcible  up-current  while 
standing  on  a  raft  insecurely  fastened  to  the  bridge 
at  Oromocto  village.  "  On  the  limits,"  in  New 
Brunswick  phraseology,  seems  to  imply  a  condi- 
tion of  involuntary  retention  within  certain  pre- 
scribed boundaries,  secured  by  the  obligation  of 
a  bail-bond,  and  lasting  until  the  lis  pendens  is 
brought  before  the  proper  juridical  tribunal,  or 
otherwise  disposed  of. 

When    the  many-colored    autumn    leaves    are 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN.  117 

• 

reflected  in  the  water,  and  the  air  is  laden  with 
the  delicious  odor  of  the  newly-mown  hay,  no 
more  enchanting  spot  can  be  found  than  the 
Ororaocto  forks.  The  banks  are  alluvial,  and 
lined  with  bushes,  beyond  which  wide  fields 
extend,  studded  with  graceful  clni-trees.  The 
scenery  becoiues  less  attractive,  however,  on  de- 
scending the  stream,  and  in  the  wild  meadows  an 
air  of  loneliness  and  desolation  prevails  which  is 
positively  chilling.  Here  the  Kushagonisn,  .mIso 
deep  and  dead  for  many  miles,  enters  from  the 
west;  the  principal  tributary  of  the  Oromocto, 
formed  by  the  junction  of  two  streams  that  rise 
in  Kingsclear  Parish,  above  Fredericton.  The 
upper  waters,  as  indeed  the  sources  of  almost 
every  stream  in  any  way  contributing  to  the 
Oromocto,  abound  in  small  trout,  a  rather  strange 
fact,  considering  the  habit  of  that  fish  to  seek  the 
purest  and  coolest  water.  It  would  more  accord 
with  the  usual  custom  if  all  the  trout  passed  up 
the  St.  John,  and  ignored  "Deep  River  "  entirely. 
Three  Tree  Creek  enters  the  Oromocto  four 
miles  below  the  forks.  The  origin  of  its  name  is 
obscure.  French  Lake,  two  miles  long  by  one 
broad,  is  a  pretty  little  water,  surrounded  by 
farm  land,  and  connected  with  the  river  by  a 
deep,  sluggish  channel.  The  trout  which  formerly 
frequented  it  have  become  as  scarce  as  i^hthyo- 
saurs  since  the  fatal  day  when  pickerel  were 
introduced  into  the  first  Eel  River  lake ;  indeed, 


118  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER, 

» 

they  decrease  everywhere  in  i)r()portion  to  the 
spread  and  multiplication  of  those  ''  fresh-water 
sharks."  As  for  the  objectionahle  pickerel,  they 
rejoice  in  the  slowly  moving  Oromocto,  with  its 
rank  water-grass  and  lily-pads,  and  no  other  trib- 
utary so  teems  with  them. 

FROM    GAGETOWN     TO    INDIANTOWN. 

Every  i)henomenon  of  the  St.  John,  so  far  con- 
sidered, has  its  parallel  in  some  other  part  of 
the  world.  Fresh-water  tides  are  common  to  the 
Amazon,  La  Platte,  St.  Lawrence,  and  many  other 
rivers.  An  alluvial  deposit  where  once  there  was 
an  inland  lake  or  sea  surrounds  the  lower  Missis- 
sippi, and  the  erosive  action  of  the  Grand  Falls 
resembles  that  of  Niagara ;  but  between  Gagetown 
and  Indiantown  (fifty  miles)  the  St.  John  pos- 
sesses certain  characteristics  not  found  on  any 
other  river  known  to  man.  Most  noticeable  is 
the  series  of  great  sinuses  or  lakes  that  branch 
off  eastward,  each  one  almost  parallel  with  the 
others.  Grand  and  Washademoak  lakes  and 
Belleisle  and  Kennebecasis  bays  are  their  names, 
and  they  deepen,  with  the  greatest  regularity,  on 
approaching  the  seacoast.  Grand  Lake  is  the 
shallowest,  Kennebecasis  Bay  the  deepest,  and 
the  average  depth  of  the  Belleisle  undoubtedly 
exceeds  that  of  the  Washademoak.  We  may  not 
here  wade  through  the  depths  of  geological  re- 
search to  discover  the  origin  of  such  a  strange 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN,  119 

formation,  but  will  merely  observe  that  these  ex- 
traordinary fluvial  expansions  cross  the  lines  of 
glaciation  with  what  seems  to  be  an  utter  disre- 
gard of  scientific  principles. 

From  Jemseg  on  the  east  and  Otnabog  on  the 
west  the  lands  begin  to  rise,  until  rugged  hills, 
ranging  from  two  to  seven  hundred  feet  in  height, 
become  the  common  feature  of  the  landscape. 
Above  Gage  town  one  hundred  feet  is  the  almost 
uniform  elevation  along  the  southwestern  side  of 
the  valley,  while  the  river  is  bounded  easterly  by 
great  alluvial  flats ;  but  bulow  Otnabog  the  scenery 
partially  loses  its  quiet  rural  charm,  more  resem- 
bling the  mountainous  aspect  of  the  Hudson.  The 
islands  remain  alluvial  as  far  as  the  Long  Reach, 
when  they  too  change,  becoming  islands  of  erosion 
instead  of  islands  of  deposit.  The  mountainous 
character  of  the  valley  continues  to  the  Bay  of 
Fundy.  Here  and  there  a  very  precipitous  bluff 
crops  out  on  the  hillside,  but  usually  the  slopes 
are  not  too  steep  for  forest  growth  and  cultivation. 

At  Jemseg  the  river  makes  a  peculiarly  sharp 
bend,  called  "  No  Man's  Friend,"  where  vessels 
must  tack  laboriously,  whether  sailing  up  or  down 
before  a  favoring  breeze,  the  narrowness  of  the 
channel  making  the  manoeuvre  difficult.  At  Wa- 
shademoak  the  river  is  several  miles  wide,  and 
clustered  with  alluvial  islands,  of  which  Upper  and 
Lower  Musquash  and  Long  islands  are  the  largest. 
Lower  Musquash  is  the  most  irregularly  shaped 


120  THE  ST.  JOHN  HIV  Eli. 

island  ill  the  St.  John,  doubling  to  inclose  a  fresh- 
water lagoon  of  almost  e(|ujd  area  witli  its  land 
sui'faee  ;  while  Long  Island  contains,  in  addition 
to  a  lagoon,  a  shallow,  swampy  lake.  Probably 
the  ancient  lake  basin  formerly  occupying  the 
present  site  of  the  Maugerville  flat  contracted 
below  Jemseg,  and  expanded  again  at  Washade- 
moak  to  a  width  of  five  or  six  miles,  measured 
from  that  river's  outlet  to  the  head  of  Otnabog 
Lake.  Otnabog  liiver,  which  enters  here,  is  a 
fairly  good  trout  stream,  flowing  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles,  in  one  part  through  a  rugged,  deep  ravine. 

Behind  the  steamboat  landing,  known  as  "  John 
Van  wart's,"  a  steep  hill,  five  hundred  feet  high, 
rises  abruptly  from  the  water  level,  the  summit 
commanding  a  northward  view  which  many  con- 
sider the  finest  obtainable  along  the  St.  John  River 
valley.  Fannen's  Brook  enters  close  by,  a  small 
stream  flowing  from  a  long  and  narrow  lake, 
where  excellent  trout  may  be  caught.  Above 
Belleisle  are  two  small  islands,  respectively  if  not 
respectfully  called  "  Pig  "  and  "  Hog,"  unques- 
tionably for  want  of  better  names. 

The  Long  Reach  of  the  St.  John,  where  the 
river  flows  in  a  straight  southwesterly  course  for 
fifteen  miles,  is  a  mere  continuation,  both  geologi- 
cally and  topographically,  of  the  Belleisle  valley. 
High  hills  uprise  on  both  sides,  covered  with 
alternating  patches  of  forest  and  farm  land,  while 
the  vievrs,  whether  from  highland  or  water  level, 


THE  LOWER  HT.  JOHN,  121 

are  very  extensive  and  pieturestiue.  At  tlie  head 
of  the  Keaeh  a  long  and  narrow  tongue  of  inter- 
vale land  extends  from  the  western  shore,  inelos- 
ing  an  inlet,  whieh  is  ealled  **  Mistake  Cove,''  or, 
colloquially,  "  The  Mistake,"  from  its  tendency  to 
induce  strangers  to  sail  in  under  the  im2)ression 
that  they  have  found  a  mere  channel  around  an 
island.  Oak  Point  forms  the  most  prominent 
projection  from  the  usually  regular  shore  line, 
below  which  Little  River  (at  least  the  sixth  trib- 
utary of  that  name  below  St.  Francis)  and  tfones's 
Creek  enter  from  the  west.  Little  liiver  rises  in 
Long  Lake,  a  considerable  body  of  water  over- 
looked by  a  lofty,  rugged  peak  called  Blue  Moun- 
tain. The  stream  has  one  fall,  perhaps  twelve 
feet  high.  Below  Jones's  Creek,  the  Devil's 
Back,  a  prominent  ridge,  uprises  on  the  west. 
Next  we  find  the  Devil's  Brook.  A  superstitious 
person  might  really  suppose,  on  penetrating  the 
interior  of  this  region,  that  His  Satanic  Majesty 
had  lent  Dame  Nature  a  helping  hand  in  its  for- 
mation, for  there  is  no  rougher  country  in  New 
Brunswick  than  the  Nerepis  Granite  Range. 

A  stream  entering  South  Bay,  and  flowing 
from  Spruce  Lake,  an  irregular  water  six  miles 
long,  is  the  last  of  the  St.  John's  numerous  trib- 
utaries, and  one  of  the  least  as  well. 

The  river  turns  abruptly  at  the  lower  end  of 
"  The  Reach,"  runs  four  miles  south west'"Hrdly, 
at  a  right  angle  with  its   former  course    passes 


122  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVER. 

Brandy  Point,  and  finally  widens  to  form  Grand 
Bay.  This  lake-like  expansion  is  undoubtedly 
the  broadest  part  of  the  St.  John;  but  as  the 
Kennebecasis  branches  off  to  the  eastward,  one 
cannot  tell  just  what  proportion  of  the  bay  should 
be  computed  in  the  drainage  area  of  the  latter 
river.  In  fact  the  Bay  of  Fundy  tides  often  pre- 
dominate over  both. 

THE  DRAINAGE  AREA  OF  THE  JEMSEG  RIVER. 

The  overflow  of  the  Grand  Lake  finds  an  out- 
let through  the  Jemseg,  a  deep,  sluggish  channel, 
six  miles  in  length,  draining  at  low  water  an 
area  of  fourteen  hundred  and  seventy  square 
miles,  or  more  land  than  any  other  tributary, 
excepting  the  Aroostook  and  Tobique.  As  the 
St.  John  (at  high  water)  covers  the  lowlands  in 
many  places,  Grand  Lake  and  its  surrounding 
waters  then  find  numerous  vents,  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  estimate  the  percentage  of  rainfall  car- 
ried off  by  the  Jesmeg  alone. 

Grand  Lake,  already  considered  in  comparison 
with  Temiscouata,  is  twenty-nine  miles  long,  with 
an  extreme  breadth  of  seven  miles  at  Cumber- 
land Bay.  The  superficial  area  is  said  to  be  one 
hundred  square  miles ;  the  rise  and  fall  of  tide, 
six  inches.  All  portions  are  shallow,  the  greatest 
depths  rarely  exceeding  ten  fathoms,  and  for  sev- 
eral miles  above  the  Jemseg  a  channel  has  been 
dredged  to  facilitate  navigation.     The  shores  are 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN.  123 

low,  thereby  detracting  soinewliat  from  the  beauty 
of  the  landscape.  Cultivated  lands  surround  the 
lake  on  all  sides,  and  the  canoeist  may  find 
attractive  camping  grounds  at  any  point  or  bay, 
and  may  purchase  farm  supplies  that  would  be 
considered  rare  luxuries  on  the  more  northern 
tributaries  of  the  St.  John.  Grand  Point,  ten 
miles  above  the  outlet,  is  the  most  prominent 
projection  from  the  northwestern  shore  ;  on  the 
south  side,  Cox,  EUesworth,  Fanjoy's,  and  Rob- 
ertson's points  are  all  conspicuous,  the  bays  be- 
tween them  having  the  same  general  trend  as  the 
various  branches  of  the  St.  John  below  Gage- 
town.  At  Robertson's  Point,  a  favorite  place  for 
picnicking,  there  is  a  curious  stone  called  Table 
Rock ;  and  above  Grand  Point  a  small  lake  con- 
nects with  Grand  by  a  narrow  channel  named 
"  The  Keyhole."  Coal  Creek,  a  suitable  stream 
for  canoeists,  enters  the  northeastern  arm  of  the 
lake,  often  called  "  The  Range." 

Salmon  River,  being  much  the  largest  feeder  of 
Grand  Lake,  may  be  considered  geographically  a 
continuation  of  the  Jemseg.  Rising  in  a  level 
tract  of  wilderness  land,  forty  miles  eastward  in  a 
direct  line  of  the  mouth  of  Coal  Creek,  the  stream 
makes  a  sweeping  bend,  known  as  the  Ox  Bow, 
whence  a  portage  but  three  miles  long  leads  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  Richibucto  River.  Below  Ox 
Bow  the  general  course  is  southwesterly.  It  is  a 
quiet  stream,  navigable  for  canoes  except  in  the 


124  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

extreme  droughts  of  summer.  The  Lake  Stream, 
a  principal  tributary  on  the  south  side,  must  also 
be  in  some  degree  navigable,  as  the  Indians  for- 
merly "  portaged  "  from  it  to  the  north  branch  of 
the  Canaan  River.  Yet  larger  is  the  Gaspereaux, 
which,  flowing  from  Gaspereaux  Lake  and  run- 
ning about  thirty  miles  in  a  semicircular  course, 
enters  Salmon  River  from  the  north. 

Newcastle  Creek,  another  feeder  of  Grand  Lake, 
entering  six  miles  below  Salmon  Bay,  has  two 
principal  branches,  called  the  Big  and  Little 
forks,  both  of  which  rise  near  Gaspereaux  Lake. 
In  places  the  stream  has  cut  through  horizontal 
rock  strata  so  as  to  form  lofty,  precipitous  cliffs. 
Similar  carion-like  gorges  are  found  also  upon 
Salmon  River,  exposing  in  places  thin  veins  of 
bituminous  coal. 

We  now  pass  to  the  southwestern  end  of  Grand 
Lake,  where,  opposite  the  Jemseg  outlet,  a  deep 
channel,  two  miles  in  length,  connects  its  waters 
with  Maquapit.  Maquapit  Lake  is  connected 
with  French  Lake  by  a  similar  "thoroughfare" 
of  somewhat  greater  length,  and  into  French  Lake 
empty  Little  River,  Burpee's  Mill  Stream,  and 
the  Portobello. 

The  Portobello  rises  in  several  little  rivulets, 
which  cross  the  old  Richibucto  road  a  few  miles 
from  Fredericton,  and  unite  as  they  pour  down  the 
hillside  upon  the  upper  portion  of  that  great  allu- 
vial flat  before  spoken  of  as  bounding  the  St. 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN.  125 

John  River  on  the  east  from  Nashwaak  to  Jem- 
seg.  The  name  Portobello,  which  probably  means 
"  fine  portage,"  or  "  easy  going,"  has  been  given 
with  great  propriety,  as  the  water,  winding  about 
through  a  soft  and  easily  eroded  alluvium  bed,  is 
naturally  deep  and  sluggish  all  the  way  to  French 
Lake,  a  distance  of  nearly  thirty  miles  by  water 
from  the  Richibucto  road.  The  Portobello  is  a 
veritable  "meander,"  even  if  the  Nictaux  and 
Cabineau  rivers  are  not.  No  more  tortuous  stream 
can  be  found  anywhere.  The  banks  are  often 
thickly  wooded ;  and  as  New  Brunswick  possibly 
surpasses  all  other  countries  in  the  beauty  of  its 
autumnal  foliage,  the  canoeist  should  visit  the 
Portobello  in  October,  when  the  leaves,  almost 
meeting  overhead,  throw  dazzling  reflections  upon 
the  water.  But  beware  the  Portobello  in  June; 
there  are  mosquitoes  there  then,  in  number  as  the 
sands  upon  the  seashore,  and  words  may  not  be 
found  infernal  enough  to  describe  their  depreda- 
tions. 

Blind  Lake,  an  elongated  stagnant  pond  or 
"bogan  hole,"  branching  from  the  Portobello,  is 
reached  by  "portaging"  one  mile  from  the  St. 
John  River,  at  a  point  opposite  the  middle  of 
Oromocto  Island.  The  water  route  thus  formed, 
through  the  Portobello,  French,  Maquapit,  and 
Grand  Lakes,  and  Jemseg,  has  been  named  "  the 
back  way,"  the  ordinary  river  route  being  "  the 
front  way,"  although  never  so  termed.     Lunan 


126  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVER. 

Brook,  another  branch  of  the  Portobello,  offers 
the  angler  a  rough  wade  and  a  full  fish-basket. 
Burpee's  Mill  Stream,  which  rises  near  the  Pen- 
nioc,  and  falls  into  French  Lake  after  running 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles,  is  also  a  very  good  trout 
stream.  The  wild  country  about  the  sources  of 
these  brooks  is  little  known,  although  quite  near 
Fredericton,  and  small  lakes  exist  there,  as  yet 
unmapped.     Moose  still  frequent  the  region. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  all  the 
streams  in  the  St.  John  system,  and  throughout 
New  Brunswick,  that  have  received  no  more  dis- 
tinguishing an  appellation  than  that  of  "Little 
Eiver,"  but  the  largest,  undoubtedly,  is  the  one 
flowing  into  French  Lake,  a  stream  more  or  less 
settled  for  some  distance,  and  "  canoeable "  at 
ordinary  water.  Bear  Brook,  a  principal  trib- 
utary, may  be  reached  by  wood-road  from  the 
Nashwaak  valley,  and  whoever  delights  to  catch 
very  small  trout  in  unheard-of  numbers  should 
thrust  that  portion  of  his  body  which  contains  the 
collected  perceptive  organs  of  sense  into  the  folds 
of  a  mosquito  netting,  and  pay  the  brook  a  visit. 

Maquapit,  somewhat  larger  than  French  Lake, 
is  seven  miles  long  by  two  wide,  and  continued- 
eastward  in  a  small  river  of  the  same  name. 
Loder  Creek,  a  deep  and  sluggish  channel,  con- 
nects it  with  the  St.  John,  thereby  cutting  off 
from  the  Sheffield  flat  what  is  virtually  a  great 
alluvial  island,  larger  than  any  other  in  the  basin 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN.  127 

of  the  St.  John,  thirteen  miles  in  length,  with  an 
extreme  breadth  of  four  miles.  The  island  may 
soon  become  mainland,  as  the  creek,  once  a  com- 
mon and  convenient  thoroughfare,  is  said  to  be 
badly  obstructed  by  logs  deposited  during  the 
floods.  The  southwestern  shores  ot  Maquapit, 
and  of  the  channel  connecting  it  with  Grand 
Lake,  were  famous  Indian  camping  grounds  in 
prehistoric  times,  and  the  muddy  banks  contain 
bits  of  broken  pottery,  stone  implements  curiously 
marked,  and  flint  arrow-heads,  which  often  lie 
exposed  where  the  alluvium  has  been  eroded  by 
ice,  and  the  loose  material  filtered  by  flood-water. 
Duck-shooting  over  the  marsh  lands  of  the 
Jemseg  and  Oromocto  is  a  favorite  sport,  and 
during  a  freshet,  when  French,  Maquapit,  and 
Grand  Lakes  invariably  become  one  great  irreg- 
ular sheet  of  water,  the  sportsman  may  lose  his 
bearings  in  the  excitement  of  the  chase. 

THE   WASHADEMOAK. 

The  Washademoak  is  second  in  the  series  of 
fluvial  fiords  having  the  phenomenal  parallelism 
already  noted ;  and  the  Canaan  River,  its  geogra- 
phical continuation,  which  is  separated  by  a  very 
low  watershed  from  the  sources  of  the  Buctouche 
and  Cocagne  rivers,  rises  within  fifteen  miles  of 
tidewater  in  the  Straits  of  Northumberland. 
Not  only  these  lake-like  expansions  of  the  St. 
John,  but  the  valleys  of  their  principal  affluents, 
are  ir   ariably  parallel  to  each  other. 


128  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

Canoes  may  ascend  the  Washademoak  and 
Canaan  to  the  extreme  headwaters,  the  former 
being  twenty,  the  latter  seventy-'two  miles  long. 
The  Canaan  closely  resembles  Salmon  River  of 
Grand  Lake  in  its  smooth,  swiftly  flowing  current 
and  freedom  from  falls  and  rapids.  The  country 
about  the  ujiper  portion  of  the  Washademoak 
Lake  was  settled  one  hundred  years  ago,  when 
many  northern  branches  of  the  St.  John  were 
quite  unknown  to  the  invading  white  man ;  but 
wilderness  land,  wide  caribou  plains,  and  peat- 
bogs still  surround  the  Upper  Canaan,  no  settle- 
ment appearing  on  the  stream  for  many  miles. 
The  moose  and  caribou  hunter  may  yet  enter  the 
forests  here  with  reasonable  expectations  of  suc- 
cess. In  average  width  the  lake  does  not  exceed 
three  quarters  of  a  mile,  but  at  Belyea's  Cove  it 
is  three,  and  at  Lewis's  Cove  four  miles  from 
shore  to  shore.  The  Canaan  north  fork  is  the 
principal  tributary  on  the  right-hand  side,  and 
many  large  brooks  enter  from  the  south,  often 
having  picturesque  falls  where  they  pour  down 
into  the  valley.  Cole's  Island,  one  of  the  few 
inhabited  islands  on  the  St.  John  waters,  marks 
the  limit  of  navigation  for  steamboats  and 
schooners. 

THE   BELLEISLE. 

Belleisle  Bay,  eleven  miles  in  length,  reposes  in 
a  deep  valley,  which  is,  as  usual,  continued  east- 
ward much   beyond   the   head   of   the  bay,  and 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN,  129 

drained  by  a  small  stream,  likewise  called  Belle- 
isle.  The  valley  is  thickly  settled,  and  very 
fertile,  the  soil  being  a  dark  red  loam;  and 
the  beautiful  scenery  of  the  bay  may  be  viewed 
from  the  deck  of  a  steamboat  that  ascends  several 
times  a  week.  A  singular  promontory,  twenty-five 
miles  long  by  six  broad,  known  as  the  Kingston 
Peninsula,  extends  southwesterly  between  Belle- 
isle  and  Kennebecasis  bays,  and  is  almost  divided 
by  Kingston  Creek,  a  deep  indentation  of  the 
southern  shore  of  the  Belleisle.  Skaters  pass  up 
this  creek  on  their  way  from  Fredericton  to  St. 
John,  to  avoid  the  weak  and  treacherous  ice  of 
the  Grand  Bay.  Another  deep  cove  is  found  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Belleisle,  running  parallel  to  the 
Long  Reach  on  the  St.  John,  and  separated  there- 
from by  a  picturesque  promontory  called  Gor- 
ham's  Bluff,  the  sides  of  which  are  bold  and 
rocky,  the  top  crowned  with  woods.  The  south- 
ern terminus  of  the  Kingston  Peninsula  is  called 
The  Land's  End. 

THE   KENNEBECASIS. 

The  Kennebecasis  River,  or  rather  lake  and 
river,  forms  another  remarkable  fiord  parallel  to 
both  the  Washademoak  and  Belleisle.  It  rises 
in  the  parish  of  Waterford,  near  the  sources  of 
Pollet  River  (a  stream  flowing  northerly  into  the 
Petitcodiac)  and  the  Point  Wolf,  a  small  river 
falling  directly  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy ;  thence  it 


130  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVER. 

makes  a  sweeping  bend  northeast,  north,  and 
west,  and,  entering  one  of  the  parallel  valleys, 
flows  southwesterly  to  Grand  Bay  on  the  St. 
John.  The  river  and  lake  drain  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  square  miles,  and  their  length  combined 
about  equals  that  of  the  Washademoak  and 
Canaan,  the  lake  alone  being  eighteen  miles 
long.  The  Kennebecasis  is  "canoeable"  every- 
where, and  usually  navigable  for  boats  as  well. 
The  principal  tributaries  are  Smith's  Creek  and 
Studholm's  Mill  Stream,  flowing  southerly  ;  and 
the  South  Branch,  Trout  Creek,  and  Hammond 
River,  flowing  north  and  east.  Smith's  Creek 
winds  through  a  narrow  valley  at  the  base  of 
Mount  Pisgah,  and  enters  the  upper  Kennebeca- 
sis, more  often  called  Salmon  River.  Hammond 
River  is  fed  by  numerous  rivulets  intersecting  a 
rugged  and  highly  picturesque  country  bordering 
the  northeastern  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and 
above  the  cultivated  land  at  the  mouth  it  rushes 
through  a  narrow,  rocky  gorge.  Henry's  Lake, 
near  Quaco,  was  once  famous  for  trout ;  but  since 
the  construction  of  the  St.  Martin's  and  Upham 
Railway  brought  this  region  within  easy  access  of 
St.  John,  the  number  of  anglers  has  ever  in- 
creased, the  number  of  fish  diminished.  The  val- 
ley of  Hammond  River  is  approximately  parallel 
to  that  of  the  Kennebecasis.  Indeed,  all  the 
larger  streams  hereabout  seem  unable  to  run  oth- 
erwise than  parallel  to  all  their  neighbors,  unless 
when  making  cross-cuts  from  valley  to  valley. 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN.  131 

The  largest  islands  encompassed  by  any  St. 
John  water,  excluding  the  great  alluvial  deposit 
cut  off  from  Sheffield  flat  by  Loder  Creek,  are 
Long  and  Darling's  islands  on  the  Kennebecasis, 
both  inhabited  and  traversed  by  roads.  Dar- 
ling's Island  connects  with  the  mainland  at  low 
water ;  but  Long  Island,  which  is  the  most  ele- 
vated as  well  as  one  of  the  largest  St.  John  River 
islands,  stands  well  off  shore.  On  the  east  side 
a  huge  precipice,  called  the  Minister's  Face,  rises 
almost  perpendicularly  from  the  water's  edge. 

Probably  no  other  tributary  is  so  well  settled 
as  the  Kennebecasis,  and  on  no  other  can  soils  of 
such  fertility  be  found.  Norton  and  Sussex  vales 
are,  with  Sheffield  and  Maugerville,  the  gardens 
of  New  Brunswick,  and  the  chances  are  that  no 
unopened  tracts  in  the  interior  will  ever  equal 
them.  The  Intercolonial  Railway  follows  the 
valley  for  many  miles,  passing  through  Rothesay, 
Hampton,  Sussex,  and  many  other  pleasant  vil- 
lages, famous  as  summer  resorts  for  the  citizens 
of  New  Brunswick's  somewhat  foggy  metropolis, 
the  city  of  St.  John. 

Boar's  Head  marks  the  southerly  termination 
of  Kennebecasis  Bay.  Although  this  steep  and 
rugged  cape  is  but  fifty  feet  in  height,  the  water 
is  computed  to  be  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
deep  at  the  base,  the  greatest  depth  yet  found  in 
any  St.  John  water  excepting  Lake  Temiscouata. 


132  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

THE    NEREPI8     KIVER. 

The  Nerepis  River,  entering  from  the  west  at 
the  foot  of  the  Long  Reach,  drains  a  large  coun- 
try between  the  valleys  of  the  Oronio(;to  and  St. 
John  rivers,  and  receives  ten  small  affluents.  It 
becomes  considerably  developed,  as  Mr.  Cooney 
would  say,  by  a  gradual  expansion,  and  by  the 
contributions  of  a  variety  of  undistinguished  rivu- 
lets. Marsh  lands  extend  along  the  lower  course 
(annually  flooded  by  back-water  from  the  St. 
John),  where  the  channel  is  tortuous  and  deep, 
the  current  sluggish.  At  ordinary  water  canoes 
may  ascend  the  stream  to  Fowler's  Fall,  sixteen 
miles  from  the  mouth.  The  bridge  crossing  the 
marsh  lands  above  Westfield  is  the  longest  over 
any  branch  of  the  St.  John,  but  its  architectural 
beauty  is  somewhat  less  conspicuous  than  its 
length. 

Such  brooks  as  flow  westerly  into  the  Nerepis 
originate  in  a  myriad  of  little  ponds  and  lakes, 
occupying  the  depressions  in  the  Nerepis  Gran- 
ite Range.  The  country  is  rough  and  densely 
wooded ;  the  lakes  perfect  gems  of  natural  beauty, 
often  lying  in  deep,  cup-shaped  hollows.  Granite 
bowlders  of  all  dimensions  often  cover  the  outlets 
and  inlets,  and  over  these  thick  mosses  have 
grown,  so  hiding  the  little  rills  of  water  beneath 
that  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  trace  the  direction 
of  their  flow.     Many  of  the  lakes  abound  with 


TUE  LOWER  sr.  JOHN.  133 

trout,  but  a  person  wishing  to  angle  or  explore 
must  shoulder  his  blanket  and  provisions,  and 
"  rough  it ''  in  good  earnest. 

Near  Fowler's  Fall  the  river  winds  through 
a  deep  ravine  between  the  mountains,  rounding 
the  bases  of  precipitous  cliffs,  which  confine  the 
valley  for  a  considerable  distance.  Douglas 
Mountain,  the  Eagle  Cliffs,  and  other  rugged 
hills  add  great  sublimity  to  the  Nerepis  scenery. 

•     THE   TIDAL   FALL. 

Two  miles  from  the  Boar's  Head  the  river 
enters  the  Narrows,  a  deep  chasm,  flanked  by 
lofty  mural  cliffs,  somewhat  resembling  those  on 
the  Lower  Saguenay,  and  formed  in  rocks  of  sim- 
ilar age.  Below  the  Narrows  there  is  an  expan- 
sion, and  then  another  chasm,  shorter  than  the 
first,  which  contains  within  its  massive  walls  the 
famous  tidal  cataract,  where  the  fresh  waters  of 
the  river  daily  struggle  for  mastery  with  the 
phenomenal  tides  of  the  bay.  The  salt  water 
first  rushes  in  with  great  velocity  until  it  reaches 
Grand  and  Kennebecasis  bays,  over  which  it 
spreads  quite  evenly,  losing  both  speed  and 
power ;  then  the  accumulated  mass  of  fresh  and 
salt  water  pours  out  again  in  a  rapid  that  com- 
pares with  those  above  Niagara  whirlpool.  The 
speed  of  the  current  here  has  been  estimated  at 
twenty-five  knots  an  hour. 

If  it  were  not  for  the  great  catch-basin  above 


134  TUE  ST.  JOHN  IIIVEH. 

the  Narrows,  the  full  strengtli  of  the  in-rushing 
flood  would  be  felt  many  miles  uj)  the  river,  to 
the  damage  of  intervales  and  islands.  The  eom- 
motion  at  the  fall  is  due  to  the  presenee  of  ledges 
beneath  the  surfaee,  while  in  the  Narrows  the 
river  is  always  quiet  and  navigable,  but  omi- 
nously dee}).  On  the  brink  of  the  fall  an  elevated 
rocky  island  appears,  separated  from  the  eastern 
shore  by  a  narrow  channel,  and  to  many  the  sight 
is  more  pleasing  than  that  of  the  Niagara  rapids, 
the  surroundings  having  a  greater  diversity  and 
picturesqueness.  The  best  view  is  obtained  from 
the  mill  on  the  Fairville  side,  but  the  visitor 
should  also  scramble  along  the  cliff  between  the 
susj^ension  bridge  and  Indiantown. 

The  depth  at  the  fall,  between  the  mill  and 
island,  varies  from  eight  to  twenty-two  feet; 
while  in  the  small  basin  below,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  feet  is  recorded,  and,  in  the  larger 
basin  above,  from  one  hundred  and  twenty-two 
to  two  hundred  and  four  feet.  Opposite  Indian- 
town  the  river  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet 
deep;  and  in  Grand  Bay  it  continues  of  great 
depth,  varying  from  one  hundred  and  four  to  one 
hundred  and  sixty  feet.  The  water  thus  attains 
greater  depths  both  above  and  below  the  Nar- 
rows and  fall  than  in  them,  a  fact  favoring  the 
theoty  that  the  river's  passage  from  Grand  Bay 
to  the  lower  basin  is  through  a  mere  valley  of 
erosion,  as  at  Grand  Falls,  rather  than  through  a 


THE  LOWER  ST.  JOHN.  135 

crack  or  fissure  produced  by  some  violent  separa- 
tion of  the  rock.  The  existence  of  a  probable 
pre-ghicial  channel  extending*  from  the  harbor 
to  Kennebecasis  Bay,  by  way  of  the  ^larsh  Creek 
and  Drury's  Cove,  is  yet  more  conclusive  evidence 
in  favor  of  the  erosion  theory.  Professor  Ilind 
says :  "  The  falls  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John 
are  not  falls  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the 
term ;  they  result  from  the  narrow  and  shallow 
outlet  through  which  the  tide,  which  rises  with 
great  rai)idity,  has  to  pass.  The  outlet  is  not 
sufficiently  broad  or  deep  to  admit  the  tidal 
waters  with  their  rise,  hence  a  fall  inwards  is 
produced  during  the  flow;  at  the  ebb  the  tide 
recedes  faster  than  the  outlet  of  the  river  can 
admit  of  the  escape  of  the  waters  accunmlated 
within  the  inner  basin,  hence  a  fall  outwards. 
The  following  are  instructions  for  gohig  through 
the  falls,  which  apply,  we  believe,  to  no  other 
'  falls  '  in  the  world :  The  falls  are  level,  or  it 
is  still  water,  at  about  three  and  a  half  hours  on 
the  flood,  and  about  two  and  a  half  on  the  ebb ; 
so  that  they  are  passable  four  times  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  about  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  at  each 
time.  No  other  rule  can  be  given,  as  much 
depends  on  the  floods  in  the  river,  and  the  time 
of  high  water  or  full  sea,  which  is  often  hastened 
by  southerly  winds.  For  a  few  days  in  the 
spring  of  the  year,  the  height  of  the  water  in  the 
river  renders  the  passage  of  the  falls  extreme  ly 


136  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVEB, 

difficult."  Between  the  falls  and  the  harbor 
the  river  contracts,  at  low  water,  within  a  deep 
and  narrow  channel  between  banks  of  slimy 
mud;  and  thus  ignominiously  it  glides  along, 
black  and  foam-flaked,  to  mingle  its  waters  with 
the  bay. 


CHAPTER  V. 

VARIOUS   FEATURES   OF  THE  ST.  JOHN. 
DESCENT   OF   THE   RIVER. 

The  authorities  vary  so  much  regarding  the 
difference  in  level  between  various  points  on  the 
river,  that  little  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  their 
estimates.  Mr.  Hind,  in  his  "  Preliminary  Re- 
port on  the  Geology  of  New  Brunswick,"  says : 
"The  St.  John  (south  branch)  rises  in  the 
State  of  Maine  (latitude  46°  2")  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  miles  west  of  the  old  Meductic  Fort,  be- 
low Woodstock.  The  head  of  the  south  branch  is 
2,158  feet  above  the  ocean.  The  source  of  the 
southwest  branch,  where  the  monument  is  placed 
under  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  on  the  boun- 
dary between  Canada  and  Maine,  is  1,808  feet ; 
and  the  northwest  branch  (in  Canada)  comes  from 
an  elevation  of  2,358  feet.  St.  John  Lake,  on  the 
south  branch,  is  1,075  feet  above  the  ocean  ;  and 
where  the  river  first  enters  the  province,  at  St. 
Francis,  its  waters  are  not  more  than  606  feet 
above  high  tide."  The  following  table  shows 
some  estimated  river  levels  between  Fredericton 
and  Grand  Falls: — 


138  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

Distance.        Height 
Miles.        in  Inches. 
From  Fredericton  to  the  confluence  of  tide 

below  Chapel  Bar 4.47  0 

Confluence  of  tide  to  French  Bar 3.15  43 

French  Chapel  to  Cliff's  Bar 7.52  129 

Cliff's  Bar  to  the  head  of  Bear  Island 5.70  0 

Bear  Island  to  Nackawick 8.54  227 

Nackawick  to  Meductic 4.68  55 

Meductic  to  Eel  River 9.25  220 

Eel  River  to  Griffith's  Island 9.43  168 

Griffith's  Island  to  Macmullen's 12.26  )  .^ 

MacmuUen's  to  Presque  Isle 8.08  ) 

Presque  Isle  to  Riviere  du  Chute 14.77  375 

Riviere  du  Chute  to  Tobique 12.71  )  ^^p, 

Tobique  to  Grand  Falls 21.12  J 

Feet.  Inches. 

Height   of  the   basin    at    the    foot    of    the 

Grand  Falls  above  the  tide  at  Chapel  Bar.         177  8 

Perpendicular  height  of  the  Grand  Falls ....  74  0 

Descent  through  the  Gorge 45  6 

"  As  the  distance,"  says  Mr.  Hind,  "  from 
Fredericton  to  Grand  Falls  is  125 1  miles,  and 
the  ascent  by  the  river  is  stated  to  be  only 
177  feet  3  inches,  according  to  the  levels  taken, 
this  would  give  a  fall  per  mile  of  only  one  foot 
five  inches."  Then  he  says  :  "  The  levels  taken 
between  Fredericton  and  the  Grand  Falls  are  not 
accurate.  The  summit  of  the  Grand  Falls  is 
really  more  than  400  (419)  feet,  ascertained  by 
leveling  from  Passamaquoddy  Bay ;  the  descent 
between  the  foot  of  the  Grand  Falls  and  Freder- 
icton 298  feet  instead  of  177  ;  and  the  fall  per 
mile  two  feet  four  inches,  instead  of  one  foot  five 
inches." 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.  139 

The  descent  of  the  St.  John  between  St.  Fran- 
cis and  Fish  River  is  said  to  be  50  feet ;  between 
Fish  River  and  Grand  Falls,  137  feet ;  while  the 
St.  Francis  falls  142  feet  from  the  level  of  Boun- 
dary Lake,  and  the  AUagash  308  feet  between 
Chamberlain  Lake  and  the  mouth.  The  mean 
elevation  of  the  basin  of  the  St.  John  in  Maine 
is  about  850  feet. 

Having  wandered  so  far  into  the  statistical 
labyrinth,  the  following  table  may  be  added, 
showing  the  river's  breadth  at  different  places, 
when  measured  at  low  water  :  — 

At  Fredericton ^  mile. 

"   Cliff's  Bar 700  feet. 

"   Naekawick 475 

"   Meductic 550 

"   Eel  River 550 

"   Griffith's  Island 730 

"   Presque  Isle 569 

"   Riviere  du  Chute 420 

NAVIGATION. 

The  various  waters  of  the  St.  John,  including 
all  lakes  over  ten  miles  long,  or  expansions  of 
navigable  streams,  are  navigable  about  2,630 
miles  by  canoe ;  about  450  miles  by  steamboats 
aiid  sailing  craft.  Steamboats  ply  regularly  on 
the  main  river  between  Indiantown  and  Frederic- 
ton,  and  on  the  Jemseg  River,  Grand  and  Wa- 
shademoak  lakes,  and  Belleisle  and  Kennebecasis 
bays.     At   high   water  a  stern-wheeled,  flat-bot- 


140  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVEE, 

tomed  boat  ascends  the  St.  John  to  Woodstock, 
and  would  proceed  to  Grand  Falls  if  the  swift 
current  did  not  make  the  voyage  too  slow  to  be 
profitable.  Above  the  falls  navigation  improves 
again,  but  Edmundston  is,  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses, the  uppermost  limit  of  possible  locomotion 
by  steam.  The  Oromocto  is  deep  enough  for 
ordinary  vessels,  but  rather  too  tortuous  and 
narrow ;  so  are  the  "  thoroughfares "  connecting 
Grand,  Maquapit,  and  French  lakes.  Temiscou- 
ata  Lake  is  long  enough  to  warrant  steamboat  ser- 
vice when  the  surrounding  country  becomes  more 
populous,  and  so  deep  that  vessels  drawing  twice 
as  much  water  as  any  ever  built  could  safely  sail 
everywhere.  Grand  Bay,  the  Long  Reach,  and 
the  great  eastern  fiords  make  excellent  yachting 
courses.  Grand  liake  is  rather  shallow  in  many 
places,  but  steamers  and  wood  boats  pass  regularly 
from  the  Jemseg  to  Salmon  River.  Some  dredg- 
ing has  been  necessary  on  the  St.  John  River 
above  Oromocto. 

One  afternoon  in  1850  a  strange  sound  alarmed 
the  good  citizens  of  Fredericton.  It  proceeded 
from  the  water,  and  was  of  such  unusual  char- 
acter, so  shrill  and  piercing,  that  many  sup- 
posed it  to  be  the  war-whoop  of  a  savage  foe,  or 
the  snort  of  some  antediluvian  monster  that  had 
lain  concealed  for  centuries  beneath  the  river's 
mud.  Everybody  hastened  to  the  water  fromc, 
where  no  more  terrible  object  appeared  than  the 


o 


H 

Q 

< 
5 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.  141 

little  steamboat  Madawaska,  steaming  lazily  up 
the  stream.  A  few  valiant  citizens  carried  fire- 
arms on  that  occasion.  Several  steamboats  had 
been  placed  upon  the  river  prior  to  1850,  but  the 
Madawaska  was  the  first  to  carry  a  whistle ; 
hence  the  unusual  sound  and  the  widespread  ex- 
citement. 

Whether  we  arc  on  the  St.  John  or  any  tribu- 
tary, the  canoe  is  indispensable  to  complete  and 
satisfactory  exploration. 

Some  of  the  journeys  made  with  the  aid  of 
rapid  currents  are  simply  phenomenal.  In  May, 
1887,  during  that  year's  remarkable  flood,  the 
Messrs.  Straton  paddled  from  the  lower  basin  at 
Grand  Falls  to  Fredericton,  a  distance  conserva- 
tively estimated  at  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
miles,  in  fourteen  hours  and  forty-six  minutes, 
delaying  at  Woodstock  to  dispatch  a  telegram. 
On  several  occasions  camping  parties  have  cov- 
ered the  sixty-two  miles  between  Allagash  Fall 
and  Edmundston  in  one  day ;  and  a  lessee  of  the 
Tobique,  at  ordinary  water,  decamped  one  morn- 
ing ten  miles  above  the  Nictaux,  and  next  morning, 
but  an  hour  or  two  later,  grounded  his  canoe  upon 
the  beach  at  Andover.  Several  times  have  Fred- 
ericton canoeists,  in  the  freshet  season,  paddled 
home  from  Shogomoc  in  four  and  one  half  hours, 
a  distance  of  forty-five  miles,  and  instances  of  fast 
canoeing  over  various  St.  John  waters  might  be 
multiplied  indefinitely.     The  statement  that  un- 


142  THE  ST.  JOUN  ElVEB. 

wieldy  log-rafts  leave  Tobique  at  sunrise  during 
high  water,  and  shortly  after  nightfall  reach 
Springhill,  one  hundred  miles  below,  without  other 
motive  power  than  the  current,  would  challenge 
all  belief,  if  the  fact  of  their  annually  doing  so 
was  not  well  known. 

Col.  eJolin  Allen,  in  his  "  Rej)ort  on  the  Indian 
Tribes  "  written  in  1793,  says:  "  The  Indians  have 
told  me,  when  the  stream  was  rapid,  they  have 
delivered  letters  to  the  French  commanding  officer 
at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John  in  four  days  from 
Quebec." 

BRIDGES   AND    FERRIES. 

Eleven  bridges  span  the  St.  John  River,  six 
for  roads  and  five  for  railways.  The  steel  canti- 
lever bridge  of  the  St.  John  Bridge  Company 
and  the  suspension  bridge  at  Fairville,  both  cross- 
ing below  the  tidal  fall,  nearly  one  himdred  feet 
above  the  water,  and  the  suspension  bridge  across 
the  Grand  Falls  gorge,  are  the  most  interesting, 
while  the  Fredericton  bridges  are  conspicuous  for 
length.  The  only  large  tributaries  yet  unbridged 
are  the  AUagash  and  Little  Black  rivers. 

A  peculiar  feature  of  the  upper  St.  John  is  the 
number  of  ferries  that  are  worked  solely  by  the 
river  current.  A  wire  is  suspended  from  bank  to 
bank  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  above  water,  and  the 
ferry  attached  at  both  ends  to  a  rope  which 
passes  over  a  little  wheel,  the  latter  running  along 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.   143 

the  wire.  By  regulating  the  position  of  the  rope, 
the  ends  of  the  ferry  are  kept  at  unequal  distances 
from  the  wire,  and  in  the  direction  of  that  end 
which  is  least  distant  the  said  ferry  invariably 
moves. 

Horse  ferries  are  used  in  a  few  places,  and, 
until  recent  years,  three  steam  ferries,  peculiarly 
unique  in  architectural  design,  carried  passengers, 
when  any  offered  themselves  to  be  carried,  and  at 
other  times  their  captains  and  engineers,  between 
Fredericton  and  its  trans-riparian  suburbs. 

DENUDATION   OF  THE   FOREST. 

Although  the  only  affluents  of  the  St.  John  yet 
totally  surrounded  by  forest  are  the  south  and 
southwest  branches,  there  is  but  one  settlement  in 
the  basin  of  the  northwest  branch,  and  that  con- 
sists of  a  few  French  farms,  near  small  brooks 
entering  La  Riviere  Noire,  a  branch  of  the  Daa- 
quam.  On  Black  River  the  only  settlement  is 
St.  Pamphile,  and  Little  Black  River  and  the 
Chemquassabamticook  are  unsettled  above  their 
mouths.  A  few  isolated  farms,  unconnected  by 
road,  contain  the  only  lands  on  the  AUagash  and 
on  the  St.  Francis  (between  Glazier  and  Boun- 
dary lakes),  denuded  of  natural  forest  growth. 
The  Great  Fish  River  region  is  more  or  less  set- 
tled from  Portage  Lake  to  Fort  Kent,  although, 
above  Nadeau  Lake,  the  cleared  lands  never  ex- 
tend to  the  stream.     Above   Portage   Lake  the 


144  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

forests  are  intact.  The  main  Meruimpticook  has 
no  settlers  above  th^  intervale  land  at  the  mouth ; 
and  while  the  Madawaska  River  and  the  western 
shores  of  Temiscouata  are  well  settled,  the  valleys 
of  the  Touladi,  upper  Cabineau,  and  Ashberish 
rivers  are  still  invested  with  luxuriant  forest 
growth.  Green  River  is  unsettled  above  the  east 
branch,  the  Aroostook  above  Ox  Bow,  the  Tobique 
above  Nictaux,  the  Nashwaak  above  Rocky  Brook. 
While  the  valleys  of  the  tributaries  below  Fred- 
ericton  are  more  closely  populated,  it  is  very 
doubtful  if  even  one  of  these  streams  has  a  drain- 
age basin  less  than  half  clad  in  a  dense  growth  of 
trees. 

What  will  happen  when  all  this  territory  is 
deprived  of  its  present  sylvan  character?  The 
annual  freshets,  already  somewhat  afdictive,  will 
undoubtedly  increase  in  proportion  to  the  dimin- 
ution of  woodland.  In  the  Connecticut  valley, 
where  the  forests  have  been  largely  cut  down  or 
burned,  the  floods  are  said  to  surpass  those  of  the 
St.  John,  while  the  average  rainfall  cannot  be 
much  greater,  and  may  be  less ;  and  on  the  Ohio 
a  difference  of  sixty  feet  is  recorded  between  ex- 
tremes of  high  and  low  water.  Such  a  rise  on 
the  St.  John  at  Fredericton  would  submerge 
everything  but  church  steeples.  One  obvious 
reason  why  forest  denudation  is  followed  by  an 
increased  violence  in  the  floods  is  that  snow,  col- 
lected in  severe  winters,  lies  more  exposed  to  the 


VAlilOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.   145 

sun's  rays  in  spring.  Tt  must  be  rcmonil)or<'(l 
however,  that  forests  themselves  induee  rainfall, 
accoriK^ig  to  some  cooperation  of  natural  causes 
not  fully  understood. 

In  the  St.  John  valley,  where  the  winters  are 
almost  arctic  in  severity  and  snows  accumulate 
for  many  months,  many  people  live  on  intervale 
lands,  and  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  various 
moot  questions  relating  to  forest  and  flood  may 
one  day  become  of  vital  importance.  To  illus- 
trate the  rate  at  which  the  denuding  2)rocess  goes 
on,  I  may  state  that,  in  the  present  year,  1893, 
fifty  millions  of  feet  of  lumber  were  cut  within 
the  Aroostook  valley  alone.  Forty  years  ago  the 
Tobique  was  almost  entirely  unsettled,  and  Mr. 
Cooney  described  it  in  1832  as  "  a  river  bathing 
the  unimproved  and  almost  unknown  lands  of  the 
county  of  York,"  but  now  there  is  a  road  to  the 
Nictaux,  sixty  miles  above  the  mouth,  and  a  suc- 
cession of  prosperous  farms.  On  other  tributa- 
ries the  settler  and  his  axe  have  advanced  almost 
as  rapidly. 

THE    FRESHETS. 

The  highest  freshet  ever  known  to  occur  on  the 
St.  John  was  that  of  May,  1887,  when  the  water 
covered  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Fredericton 
town  plot,  carried  away  numerous  bridges,  and 
devastated  the  lowlands  of  Sheffield  and  Mauger- 
ville   for  over  a  week.     As  usual,  the  principal 


146  THE  ST.  JOHN  ItlVER. 

water  came  from  the  upper  St.  John,  the  Aroos- 
took River  prohably  being  the   largest  contribu- 
tor.    So  feeble,  in  comparison,  was  the  stream 
of  the  Madawaska,  that  the  St.  John,  backing  up, 
lifted  the  Edmundston  bridge  from  its  abutments 
and  deposited  it  on  the  bank  above.     The  flood 
assumed  phenomenal   proportions  at  Fredericton 
on  the  fourth  of  May,  and  on  the  thirteenth  of 
that  month  a  raj)id  subsidence' began.     The  lower 
tributaries,  especially  the  Nashwaak,  reached  their 
highest  level  a  week  sooner  than  the  St.  John  at 
Fredericton;    as   the    snow   above    Grand   Falls 
thaws  later,  and   it   takes  several  days   for  the 
water  of  the  more  northerly  tributaries  to  reach 
Fredericton.     The  little  village  below  the  Nash- 
waak,  sometimes  called  "  Tattle  town,"  was  in  a 
bad  predicament,  the  water  sweeping  through  it 
very  forcibly,  and  compelling  people  to  evacuate 
their  shops  and  interchange  visits  by  boat  in  a 
manner  quite  idtra- Venetian.      As  the  land  was 
lower  in  the  Portobello    depression  than  on  the 
immediate   river    bank,   the   current    quickened 
wherever   an  inlet   that  way   was   afforded.     In 
Maugerville  and  Sheffield  many  farmers  fled  with 
their  goods  to  the  highlands,  and  in  a  few  locali- 
ties the  water  is  said  to  have  entered  second-story 
windows,  and  there  deposited  logs,  so  that  their 
ends  protruded  after  the  subsidence  took  place. 
In  some  of  the  barns,  floating  floors  were  made  for 
cattle,  but  this  novel  expedient  failed  to  insure 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST,  JOHN.   147 

their  safety  in  at  least  one  instance,  wliero  it  is 
said  that  a  few  of  the  unfortunate  animals  were 
crushed  against  the  stationary  floor  abovt^  The 
flood  country  presents  a  somewhat  melaniiioly 
aspect  when  houses,  barns,  haystacks,  and  leafless 
trees  arise  above  a  desolate  wjiste  of  turbid  wa- 
ters ;  and  in  the  vividness  of  his  imagination  the 
spectator  is  carried  back  to  the  coal  period,  al- 
most expecting  to  see  some  huge,  misshapen  rep- 
tile emerge  above  the  labyrinths  of  sunken  bushes. 

As  the  tidal  inflow  through  the  Narrows  above 
Indiantown  is  distributed  evenly  over  Grand  Bay, 
spending  its  force  less  than  twenty  miles  inland, 
so  does  this  wide  expansion  scatter  the  flood-water, 
which  might  otherwise  rise  to  a  dangerous  level, 
when  checked  in  its  outlet  by  the  narrowness  of 
the  channel.  The  current  at  Fredericton  was 
more  rapid  during  the  first  stages  of  the  flood  of 
1887  than  afterwards,  when  Grand  Bay  and  the 
other  catch-basins  were  filled,  and  so  vast  an 
amount  of  water  was  backed  up  that  the  Nerepis 
flats  were  inundated  several  days  after  the  subsi- 
dence above.  The  unusual  outpouring  of  fresh 
water  is  said  to  have  prevented  the  tide  from 
entering  St.  John  harbor,  and  by  all  accounts 
"  the  reversible  cataract "  became  a  tridy  inspir- 
ing sight. 

Mr.  G.  F.  Matthew,  speaking  of  the  remark- 
able retention  of  flood- water  by  the  Narrows  in  an 
article  "  On  the  Occurrence  of  Arctic  and  Western 


148  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVER. 

Plani.»  in  Continental  Acadia,"  says :  "  These 
pent-up  waters  are  then  compelled  to  spread  them- 
selves over  the  lowlands  of  the  valley  of  the  river 
and  such  affluents  as  the  Kennebecasis,  Nerepis, 
Washademoak,  Belleisle,  Grand  Lake,  and  the 
Oromocto.  Two  extensive  though  very  irregu- 
larly shaped  lakes  are  thus  formed,  —  the  lower 
one  extending,  in  the  form  of  an  oxbow,  down  the 
valley  of  the  Kennebecasis,  around  Grand  Bay, 
and  up  the  "  Long  Reach "  and  Belleisle  Bay ; 
the  upper  one  embracing  a  large  area,  beginning 
at  the  lower  end  of  Long  Island,  and  extending 
upwards  over  the  lowlands  lying  around  the 
Washademoak  River,  Grand,  Maquapit,  and 
French  lakes,  and  all  the  intervale  lands  between 
Gagetown  and  the  Oromocto,  submerging  also 
the  lands  on  each  side  of  this  river  for  many 
miles  up.  The  area  of  these  lake-like  expansions 
of  the  St.  John  River,  which  lie  partly  among  the 
southern  hills  and  partly  to  the  northward  of 
them,  cannot  fall  far  short  of  600  square  miles." 

THE    ICE. 

Excepting  the  principal  waterfalls  and  "  air- 
holes," and  possibly  the  Madawaska  River  above 
Degele,  ice  forms  on  all  waters  of  the  St.  John 
above  the  Narrows.  The  "  air-holes,"  which  are 
small  open  spaces,  usually  oval-shaped,  that 
rarely  or  never  freeze  over,  although  surrounded 
by  strong,  thick  ice,  often  appear   in   the  same 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.   149 

places  winter  after  winter,  and  originate  from 
causes  not  very  well  understood.  Some  are  near 
the  mouths  of  tributaries,  others  near  springs. 
A  changeable  winter  often  forms  thicker  ice 
than  one  of  steady  cold,  as  every  thaw  is  fol- 
lowed by  ft  freezing  of  surface  water  poured 
down  from  the  banks. 

Experiments  recently  made  at  Fredericton 
have  again  illustrated  the  fact  that  solid  ice  may 
move  within  itself,  that  is,  by  an  alteration  of 
the  relations  of  its  component  particles,  without 
any  fracture,  or  general  movement  of  the  entire 
mass.  Stakes  were  placed  in  a  straight  line  be- 
tween the  banks,  and  some  months  later  the  line 
of  the  stakes  had  assumed  a  curvature  down- 
stream, the  distance  from  the  original  line 
increasing  with  the  distance  from  the  river 
banks. 

The  average  duration  of  the  period  when  navi- 
gation is  closed  at  Fredericton  is  one  hundred 
and  forty-four  days.  Once  within  the  memory  of 
residents  now  living,  the  ice  ran  out  in  January, 
during  a  midwinter  thaw  of  unusual  clemency, 
but  as  a  rule  the  river  is  solidly  frozen  over  from 
the  latter  part  of  November  until  the  middle  of 
April.  Even  the  rough  rapids  above  AUagash 
are  annually  coated  with  ice,  said  to  be  suffi- 
ciently thick  to  support  a  span  of  horses  and 
heavily  loaded  sled.  At  times  the  river  affords 
imrivaled  skating  facilities,  the  part  between  Fred- 


150  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

ericton  and  Gagetown  being  usually  the  best. 
Skaters  occasionally  quit  Fredericton  in  the  early 
morning,  and  reach  Clifton  on  the  Kennebecasis 
by  nightfall,  thus  leaving  seventy-five  miles  of 
glaciated  river  marked  up  with  their  tracks.  As 
the  Grand  Bay  ice  is  seldom  safe,  belause  of  tidal 
fluctuations,  the  skaters  proceed  up  Kingston 
Creek  from  the  Belleisle,  and  walk  to  Kenne- 
becasis Bay.  From  Fredericton  to  Oromocto,  and 
more  rarely  to  Gagetown,  the  river  surface  is 
often  one  continuous  ice-sheet,  so  smooth  that  it 
vividly  reflects  the  surrounding  landscape.  The 
Oromocto  stream  is  not  so  safe  for  skaters,  being 
warmer  water ;  and  the  rapid  currents  above 
Fredericton  make  the  ice  in  that  direction  rather 
treacherous.  After  the  ice  has  formed,  a  rise 
in  the  stream  often  loosens  it  along  the  banks, 
where  flood-water  is  pressed  up,  forming,  as  it 
freezes,  bands  pf  yellowish  colored  ice,  called 
"  shore  streaks,"  which  usually  have  a  glassy  p- 
pearance,  and  are  very  pleasant  to  skate  upon. 

When  well  frozen,  the  St.  John  affords  a  com- 
mon highway,  and  several  Fredericton  streets  are 
annually  continued  across  the  ice  and  marked  by 
lines  of  spruce  bushes.  Before  the  bridges  were 
built,  these  "  street  continuations  "  often  changed 
places  with  a  partial  movement  of  the  ice,  allow- 
ing people  to  walk  down  Carleton  Street,  for  in- 
stance, to  the  water  front,  and  proceed  across  the 
river  on  what  was  but  one  day,  possibly  but  one 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.    151 

hour,  previously  a  continuation  of  York  Street. 
The  general  ice-run,  which  causes  much  damage, 
usually  precedes  the  water-flood  by  a  week  or  ten 
days.  Wharves  and  bridges  are  liable  to  be  mu- 
tilated, or  completely  demolished ;  alluvial  banks 
eroded,  large  trees  uprooted.  In  one  instance  the 
upper  story  of  a  wooden  house,  built  on  a  jetty  on 
the  bank,  was  swept  away  in  toto,  the  occupants 
barely  escaping  with  their  lives.  On  the  islands 
and  intervales,  barns  are  chained  to  trees,  but  not 
so  much  for  protection  against  the  all-powerful 
ice  as  against  the  subsequent  freshet,  when  real 
estate  sometimes  travels  with  a  facility  usually 
accorded  to  personal  property  alone. 

In  years  gone  by,  several  bad  "  ice-jams  "  have 
occurred  near  Fredericton,  damming  the  water  to 
a  dangerous  height.  On  the  11th  of  April,  1831, 
one  of  these  "  jams,"  at  Simond's  Point,  two  miles 
below  the  town,  inundated  all  the  front  streets ; 
and  so  sudden  was  the  breaking  up  throughout 
the  river's  course,  that  immense  ice-cakes  got 
stranded,  or  upturned  like  polar  bergs,  rising  even 
to  the  level  of  the  housetops,  and  threatening  the 
town  with  destruction.  In  1854,  or  thereabouts, 
an  ice-jam  raised  the  water  to  a  level  which  cer- 
tainly equaled,  perhaps  exceeded,  the  maximum 
flood-level  in  1887 ;  and  cannon  were  discharged 
over  it,  in  order  that  the  concussion  might  loosen 
the  mass.  The  whole  plain  was  swept  by  water 
and  ice  a  short  time  before  the  landing  of   the 


152  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

Loyalists.  At  another  time  numerous  congealed 
fragments  of  the  St.  John  and  its  tributaries 
formed  an  incredibly  high  dam  near  Keswick ;  but 
there  being  no  city  to  submerge  above  that  jDoint, 
the  accumulated  mass  was  considerately  permitted 
to  disintegrate  by  natural  processes  alone.  In 
April,  1887,  another  ''  jam  "  occurred  in  the  same 
locality,  which  existed  several  days,  while  on  the 
wharves  at  Gibson  'ce-blocks  were  piled  thirty  or 
forty  feet  high.  The  rapidly  rising  water  wore 
away  the  Keswick  jam,  and  some  of  the  detached 
cakes  congealed  together,  and  descended  the 
stream  as  bergs,  sufficiently  large  to  ground  in 
deep  water  opposite  Fredericton. 

When  a  severe  and  snowy  winter  is  followed  by 
a  rapid  change  in  spring,  or  by  heavy  rains,  the 
freshet  consequent  thereui^on  tears  the  strong  ice 
from  its  riparian  fastenings,  causing  a  violent 
"  run ; "  but  when  the  thermal  change  is  slow,  or 
unattended  by  heavy  rainfall,  the  ice  rots  gradu- 
ally, or  melts  away  without  much  motion. 

Five  miles  an  hour  may  be  considered  the  max- 
imum speed  of  running  ice  below  the  Keswick 
islands,  and  the  display  generally  commences  with 
the  movement  of  one  huge  cake  extending  from 
bank  to  bank,  followed  by  a  procession  of  smaller 
ones.  The  abutments  of  the  bridges  cut  them  like 
knives.  Later  comes  the  broken  ice,  affording  a 
much  more  curious  spectacle.  The  blocks  are  of 
all   shapes   and   sizes,   jumbled   together  in  one 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.   153 

great  mass,  from  which  a  grinding,  crunching 
sound  proceeds,  varied  at  times  by  the  bellowing 
of  unfortunate  cattle  contained  in  some  barn  that 
has  been  picked  up  and  carried  away  without  the 
slightest  resulting  liability  for  trespass  or  larceny. 
The  ice  of  this  confused  mass,  having  traveled 
some  distance,  is  discolored  by  mud  and  turf  torn 
from  the  banks.  The  tout  ensemble  is  decidedly 
imposing. 

In  the  principal  lakes  the  drifting  and  expan- 
sion of  ice  often  cause  peculiar  dynamical  effects. 
On  the  southern  shore  of  Grand  Lake,  below 
Dykeman's  Beach,  a  ridge  of  stones  and  gravel 
has  been  formed,  perhaps  twenty  feet  in  height. 
Trees  cluster  on  top,  and  behind  the  land  recedes 
into  a  swampy  flat.  In  frosty  nights,  when  the 
mercury  is  many  degrees  below  the  cipher,  the 
g7;eat  ice-fields  contract  so  violently  that  their 
mass  is  fractured;  and  cracks  appear,  which  rap- 
idly extend  in  all  directions,  emitting  sounds  by 
no  means  musical.  A  rapid  rise  in  the  tempera- 
ture creates  expansion,  the  ice  becoming  pressed 
up  in  ridges  when  unable  to  overcome  the  lateral 
resistances.  On  Grand  Lake  these  glacial  ridges 
are  said  to  attain  a  height  of  ten  feet,  and  they 
frequently  break  along  their  summits,  forming 
curious  faults  and  overlapping  strata.  It  is  but  a 
miniature  of  the  great  terrestrial  change  by  which 
the  loftiest  mountains  have  been  uplifted  from  the 
seas,  the  continents  created,  the  earth  made  fit  for 
human  habitation. 


154  THE  ST.  JO  UN  RIVER. 

On  the  lower  waters  the  phenomena  of  ice  and 
flood  are  especially  interesting.  After  the  ordi- 
nary freshets  of  the  Washademoak,  Kennebecasis, 
and  Nerepis  have  subsided,  the  flood-water  from 
the  upper  St.  John  appears  and  si)reads  up  the 
depressions  of  these  rivers,  causing  a  second  over- 
flow of  greater  magnitude  than  the  first.  On  the 
Kennebecasis  this  second  flood  is  called  the  "  back- 
freshet."  So  the  ice  of  the  upper  waters  is  dis- 
charged into  the  Grand  Bay  two  weeks  after  the 
local  ice  has  passed  the  Narrows,  and  there  it 
drifts  about  (when  the  winds  are  southerly),  ex- 
erting a  chilling  influence  upon  the  air,  and  re- 
tarding vegetation. 

THE   FISHERIES   OF   THE   ST.    JOHN. 

The  subject  of  the  fisheries  is  too  comprehensive 
a  one  to  be  exhaustively  discussed  in  a  work  of 
the  present  kind,  but  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 
reports  on  the  sea  and  river  fisheries  of  New 
Brunswick  by  the  late  M.  H.  Perley,  Esq.,  from 
which  much  of  the  following  information  is  de- 
rived. 

Of  all  fishes  found  within  the  waters  of  the  St. 
John,  the  brook  trout  (^Salmo  fontinalis)  is  the 
one  most  generally  distributed.  Nearly  every 
stream  and  lake  is  supplied  with  a  greater  or  less 
number  of  them,  and  they  vary  in  weight  from 
one  ounce  to  five  and  a  half  pounds.  Says  Mr. 
Perley:  "The  brook  trout  is  a  migratory  fish: 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.   155 

when  in  its  power,  it  invariably  descends  to  the 
sea,  and  returns  to  perpetuate  its  species  by  de- 
positing its  spawn  in  the  clearest,  coolest,  and 
most  limpid  waters  it  can  find.  Various  causes 
have  been  assigned  for  the  great  variety  in  the 
color  of  the  brook  trout.  One  great  cause  is  the 
difference  of  food  ;  such  as  live  upon  fresh-water 
shrimps  and  other  Crustacea  are  the  brightest; 
those  which  feed  upon  May  flies,  and  other  com- 
mon aquatic  insects,  are  the  next ;  and  those  feed- 
ing upon  worms,  the  dullest  and  darkest  of  all. 
The  color  and  brilliancy  of  the  water  has  also  a 
very  material  effect  upon  Salmo  fontinalis.  The 
fish  of  streams  running  rapidly  over  pebbly  beds 
are  superior,  both  in  appearance  and  quality,  to 
those  of  ponds  or  semi-stagnant  brooks." 

As  illustrating  these  principles,  it  may  be  stated 
that  trout  caught  in  the  clear  water  of  the  White 
Sand  Cove,  Great  Oromocto  Lake,  are  usually 
bright  and  light-colored,  while  those  found  in  the 
sluggish  creek  at  the  southern  end  of  that  lake 
are  very  dark.  The  trout  of  the  Tay  and  Unde- 
nack,  clear-water  tributaries  of  the  Nashwaak 
Kiver,  are  much  brighter  than  those  of  the  Pen- 
nioc  and  Napadogan,  where  the  water  is  darker ; 
and  the  trout  of  Green  River  and  the  Tobique  are 
lighter  in  color  than  those  of  Great  Fish  River 
and  the  Allagash.  Mr.  William  Mclnnes,  of  the 
Canadian  Geological  Survey,  speaking  of  the  trout 
on  the  west  or  lake  branch  of  Green  River,  says : 


15G  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

"  They  are  very  noticeably  different  from  those  of 
the  main  stream,  heing  deeper  colored,  of  great 
width  in  proportion  to  their  length,  and  more  slug- 
gish in  movement."  Nearly  all  the  quiet  waters 
of  the  river  are  on  the  west  branch. 

The  great  gray  trout  (^Sdlmo  forox).,  better 
known  as  the  *'  togue  "  or  "  touladi,"  is  found  in 
great  numbers,  and  of  large  size,  in  the  lakes  of 
the  Madawaska,  Fish,  St.  Francis,  and  Allagash 
rivers,  as  well  as  in  Lac  de  I'Est  and  elsewhere. 
In  Lake  Temiscouata  the  fish  has  been  taken  of 
the  weight  of  twenty-one  pounds,  and  the  most 
sportsman-like  way  of  catching  it  is  by  "  trolling ' 
from  a  canoe  or  l)oat  in  early  spring.  Mr.  Per- 
ley  thus  describes  the  "  touladi :  "  "  When  in  per- 
fect season  and  full-grown,  it  is  a  handsome  fish, 
though  the  head  is  too  large  and  long  to  accord 
with  perfect  ideas  of  symmetry  in  a  trout.  The 
colors  are  deej?  purplish  brown  above,  changing 
into  reddish  gray,  and  thence  into  fine  orange 
yellow  on  the  breast  and  belly.  The  flesh  is  or- 
ange yellow,  not  the  rich  salmon  color  of  the  com- 
mon trout,  when  in  good  condition  ;  the  flavor 
coarse  and  indifferent.  The  stomach  is  very  ca- 
pacious, and  generally  found  gorged  with  fish ;  it 
is  very  voracious,  and  well  deserves  the  name  of 
Salmo  feroxr 

The  salmon  (^Salmo  solar)  enters  the  St.  John 
at  the  latter  part  of  May,  or  rather  the  male  fish 
does  ;  the  female  appearing  a  month  later,  and  the 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.   157 

griLse,  or  young  salmon,  last  of  all.  It  seldom 
"  takes  the  fly  "  on  the  main  river,  but,  like  tlie 
trout,  becomes  tlioroughly  sportive  on  attaining 
the  clear,  cold  Tobique.  The  change  of  water 
both  improves  its  quality  and  produces  a  radical 
change  of  habit. 

In  former  years  the  salmon  frequented  all  the 
principal  southern  tributaries  of  the  St.  John, 
more  especially  the  Nashwaak,  Oromocto,  Ca- 
naan, and  Kennebecasis,  with  the  two  Salmon  riv- 
ers, where  now  they  are  virtually  extinct.  On 
the  Nashwaak  their  disappearance  is  chiefly  due 
to  the  construction  of  dams  and  mills,  —  for  what 
fish  will  venture  up  a  stream  paved  several  feet 
deej)  with  decomposing  sawdust  ?  —  while  on  the 
Kennebecasis  and  Canaan  it  has  resulted  from  in- 
sufficient protection.  Mr.  Venning,  in  a  report 
to  the  local  government,  says  with  regard  to  the 
Kennebecasis,  "  The  inhabitants  seem  to  be  actu- 
ated by  an  insane  desire  to  destroy  every  salmon 
that  appears  in  its  waters." 

The  Tobique,  from  its  swift  current,  pure  cold 
water,  and  favorable  situation,  is  preeminently 
the  salmon  stream  of  the  St.  Jolm  system  ;  and 
when  the  fish  are  prevented  by  the  Grand  Falls 
from  ascending  the  main  river,  turned  away  from 
Salmon  River  by  obstructions  in  the  channel,  and 
disgusted  with  the  Aroostook's  impurity,  or  wea- 
ried with  unavailing  efforts  to  scale  the  rapids  of 
its  gorge,  they  seek  this  noble  stream,  where  all 


158  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

conditions  favor  tliom,  and  no  rapacious  pickerel 
are  found  to  ])rey  upon  their  young. 

The  American  yellow  perch  (^Perca  Jfaves- 
cens)^  common  in  the  quieter  waters  of  the  St. 
John,  is  greenish  yellow  above,  with  golden  yel- 
low sides,  crossed  transversely  hy  seven  dark 
bands,  the  broadest  upon  the  middle  of  the  body, 
and  is  white  beneath.  The  back  and  tail  fms  are 
brownish,  the  others  scarlet.  "  The  general  hab- 
itat of  the  perch,"  says  Mr.  Perley,  "  is  in  lakes 
and  streams  not  too  rapid.  It  delights  in  a  clear 
bottom,  with  a  grassy  margin,  or  in  rivers  over- 
hung with  brush,  and  widening  into  some  lake- 
like expanse.  Here  the  perch  roam  in  shoals,  de- 
scending and  rising  while  seeking  their  food,  and 
shading  from  the  too  great  heat  among  the  aqua- 
tic plants,  or  under  the  broad  leaves  of  the  water- 
lily.  The  iish  spawns  in  May,  then  resorting  to 
the  mouths  of  rivulets  in  great  numbers." 

The  striped  bass,  although  a  salt-water  fish, 
ascends  the  fresh-water  streams  to  breed  in  the 
spring,  and  for  a  shelter  during  the  winter.  In 
length  it  varies  from  one  to  three  feet,  and  very 
large  ones  have  been  taken  in  the  St.  John  River, 
and  in  Grand  Lake,  by  night  lines  in  the  winter 
season.  It  is  a  good  fish  for  sport,  being  very 
active,  and  frequently  rising  to  the  fly. 

The  "  white  perch,"  so  called,  is  really  a  small 
variety  of  bass,  inhabiting  sluggish  waters  near 
aquatic  plants  and  weeds.      In  weight  it  varies 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  TUE  ST.  JOHN.   159 

from  four  ounces  to  a  pound,  and  the  flesli,  when 
in  season,  is  very  edible.  Pereh  sometimes  rise 
to  an  artificial  fly,  but  are  commonly  caught  by 
bottom  fishinn^,  with  worm  bait. 

The  "  pond  "  or  "  sunfish,"  which  is  not  very 
eatable,  being  bony  and  dry,  frc(|ucnts  the  same 
waters  as  the  yellow  i)erch.  Mr.  Perlcy  says  it 
is  often  caught  for  amusement,  but  observation 
leads  one  to  believe  that  it  is  more  often  taken 
through  an  inability  to  keep  it  off  the  hook  when 
fishing  for  something  better, — a  variety  of  sport 
that  is  fully  as  well  calculated  to  tantalize  as 
amuse. 

.  The  common  sucker,  varying  in  length  from 
ten  to  fourteen  inches,  abounds  in  all  the  slug- 
gish waters.  It  is  not  very  good  for  food,  and 
the  least  gamey  of  all  the  fishes.  Another  fre- 
quenter of  sluggish  places  is  the  yellow  shiner,  a 
delicate,  finely  flavored  fish,  much  too  small  for 
sport.  The  rdll-fin,  roach  dace,  and  shining  dace, 
or  shiner,  are  three  other  small  fishes  often  asso- 
ciated with  trout.  They  are  good  for  food  (the 
red-fin  especially  so),  and  in  the  best  condition  in 
May. 

No  fish  is  more  common  than  the  chub  (^Leu- 
ciscus  cephalus^^  a  coarse  fish,  sometimes  weigh- 
ing over  three  pounds.  Now  and  then  it  takes 
the  fly,  to  the  disgust  of  the  inexperienced  angler, 
who  fancies  he  has  hooked  a  handsome  trout. 
Among  the  small  fishes  are  the  minnows,  found  in 


IGO  TIIK  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

almost  every  brook,  and  useful  as  bait  for  larger 
fish. 

The  American  smelt,  a  savory  fish,  sometimes 
taken  a  foot  in  len<;tli,  but  generally  five  or  six 
inches,  is  (captured  in  great  nunil)ers  along  the 
lower  St.  John  in  early  s])ring,  before  the  flood- 
waters  have  subsided.  It  is  named,  according  to 
Mr.  Perley,  from  a  peculiar  smeil,  resembling 
that  of  cucumbers.  Smelt  feed  largely  on 
shrimps,  and  a  jnece  of  any  crustaceous  animal 
will  answer  for  bait. 

In  the  gi'eat  lakes  of  the  Madawaska,  Fish,  and 
St.  Francis  rivers  we  find  the  whitefish  ((7orc- 
(jonus  alhus)^  called  the  "  gizzard  fish  "  by  lum- 
bermen, and  *'  poisson  pointu "  by  the  French. 
The  pool  below  the  Little  Falls  at  Edmundston 
was  once  famous  for  whitefish,  the  natives  tak- 
ing them  with  dip-nets  in  large  numbers,  but  the 
erection  of  the  dam  proved  destructive  to  this 
fishery.  In  Lake  Temiscouata  •  the  whitefish 
often  exceeds  three  pounds  in  weight,  and  is  very 
delicious,  but  in  the  lower  waters  it  seldom  ex- 
ceeds a  pound  and  a  half.  Mr.  Perley  thinks 
that  the  fish  of  this  species  found  in  Grand  Lake 
and  the  lower  St.  John  were  swept  over  the 
Grand  Falls,  having  ventured  too  far  from  the 
great  lakes  on  the  northern  tributaries,  and  he 
gives  the  following  description  of  their  habits : 
^'During  the  summer,  the  whitefish  is  not  seen 
in  Lake  Temiscouata,  and  it  is  then  supposed  to 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.   IGl 

retire  to  the  depths  of  that  unusually  deep  and 
cold  lake.  In  October  it  draws  near  the  shore, 
and  ascends  the  Tooladie  River  during  the  night 
for  the  purpose  of  spawning.  Having  deposited 
its  spawn,  it  retires  as  quickly  as  possible  to  the 
lake.  When  the  fish  draws  near  the  shore,  prior 
to  spawning,  the  fishery  is  carried  on,  chiefly  in 
a  little  bay  in  the  lake,  where  the  Tooladie  emp- 
ties. The  great  gray  trout  (^Sabnojcrox^  follows 
the  whitefish  to  the  shore,  and  preys  upon  it. 
While  the  nets  are  set  for  the  whitefish,  the  fish- 
ermen with  torch  and  sjiear  attack  and  capture 
the  Salmo  fcrox^  frequently  of  large  size  ;  hence 
the  latter  fish  has  acquired  the  name  of  *  toola- 
die,' from  the  river  to  which  it  is  attracted  by 
its  favorite  prey."  An  early  Maine  explorer, 
speaking  of  the  fish  in  Eagle  Lake,  Fish  River, 
says  :  "  The  kind  most  sought  after  is  the  white- 
fish.  It  is  the  work  of  but  a  short  time  to  load  a 
horse." 

Shad  ascend  the  St.  John  to  Fredericton,  and 
resort  for  spawning  to  Grand  Lake,  Darling's 
Lake  on  the  Kennebecasis,  Douglas  Lake  on  the 
Nerepis,  Washademoak  Lake,  Otnabog  Lake,  and 
the  Oromocto  River.  They  vary  in  length  from 
one  to  two  feet.  The  gaspereau  ascends  the  river 
to  the  same  localities  as  the  shad. 
-  In  Lake  Temiscouata,  and  the  lakes  of  the  Fish 
and  St.  Francis  rivers,  the  fresh-water  cusk  is  not 
uncommon.     The  body  of  the  fish  is  compressed 


162  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

and  somewhat  eel-shaped,  and  it  hides  under 
stones,  waiting  and  watching  for  prey.  Many  are 
taken  near  Fredericton,  at  the  beginning  of  winter, 
by  night  lines  dropped  through  the  ice,  but  the 
best  fishing  ground  is  said  to  be  on  the  sand-bars 
above  Oromocto.  The  length  of  the  fish  varies 
from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet ;  the  weight  some- 
times exceeds  six  pounds ;  and  the  flesh  is  white, 
firm,  and  of  good  flavor. 

Fresh-water  eels  are  plentiful  in  all  the  more 
sluggish  waters.  They  vary  in  length  from  six 
inches  to  two  feet  or  more,  and  may  be  captured 
with  hook  and  line  or  by  spearing.  Passing  by 
the  unsightly  catfish  (^Pimelodus  catus)  as  a  nui- 
sance to  fishermen,  we  have,  for  final  considera- 
tion, the  sharp-nosed  sturgeon,  greatest  in  size 
among  the  fishes  of  the  St.  John.  The  sturgeon 
formerly  ascended  the  river  in  considerable  num- 
bers in  May,  and  basked  upon  the  shoals  above 
Oromocto  and  southward  of  Grand  Point  in  the 
Grand  Lake,  but  they  are  now  ahnost  extinct  in 
this  vicinity,  a  result  of  over-fishing.  The  lam- 
prey eel,  fastening  upon  their  bellies  and  eating 
into  the  flesh,  caused  the  big  fish  to  jump  high  out 
of  the  water  in  their  struggles  for  freedom,  and 
they  are  said  to  have  fallen  on  canoes  in  these  un- 
advised attempts  at  aerial  locomotion.  This  must 
have  been  embarrassing,  especially  when  the  fish 
was  full-grown,  or  from  six  to  nine  feet  long. 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN     1G3 

INSECTS. 

We  grieve  to  say  that  the  beautiful  forests  of 
the  St.  John  are  infested  by  hordes  of  mosquitoes, 
black  flies,  moose  flies,  and  midges,  that  lurk 
beneath  the  leaves  and  copsewood  until  an  unsus- 
pecting foe  appears,  when,  less  fearful  of  death 
than  Zulus  on  the  plains  of  Africa,  they  shout 
their  battle-cry  (at  least  the  mosquitoes  do,  — 
black  flies  are  not  so  civil)  and  rush  to  the  attack 
from  all  sides. 

Midges  are  called  "  bite-'em-no-see-'ems "  by 
the  Indians,  and  worse  names  by  white  men. 
Certain  localities  have  especially  infamous  re^ju- 
tations  for  insects,  but  a  difficulty  arises  in  at- 
tempting to  localize  with  accuracy  the  principal 
centres  of  torment.  It  may  be  true,  speaking 
generally,  that  the  country  above  the  Grand  Falls 
is  worse  for  black  flies  than  that  below ;  and  the 
country  below,  more  especially  that  drained  by  the 
marshy  waters  of  the  Oromocto  and  Jemseg,  a 
worse  mosquito  ground  than  the  region  above, 
midges  being  a  luxury  quite  evenly  distributed. 
June  is  the  worst  fly  season  on  the  lower  waters, 
but  above  the  falls,  where  the  winters  are  longer, 
the  insects  seldom  attain  their  fidl  numerical 
strength  before  July.  They  bite  very  assiduously^ 
during  the  earlier  weeks  of  August,  but  vanish 
when  September  comes.  Stories  might  be  told  of 
these  fiendish  little  invertebrates  that  would  "  har- 


164  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

row  up  the  soul,"  did  the  design  of  this  work  per- 
mit. 

The  temperature  has  a  marked  effect  upon 
insects,  as  they  seldom  bite  when  the  mercury  is 
above  ninety  degrees,  or  below  fifty  degrees. 
About  seventy-five  degrees  Fahrenheit  may  be 
considered  the  favorite  biting  point.  Many  con- 
coctions are  used  to  repel  their  sanguinary  on- 
slaughts, but  none  more  efficacious  than  "  slith- 
eroo,"  a  mixture  of  tar  with  bear's  grease.  When 
this  compound  is  applied  in  layers  of  sufficient 
thickness  les  mouclies  never  bite  through  it,  sim- 
ply because  they  cannot. 

THE    DISPUTED    TERRITORY. 

For  many  years  the  region  drained  by  the  up- 
per St.  John  and  its  important  affluents,  the  AUa- 
gash.  Fish,  and  Aroostook  rivers,  was  the  subject 
of  serious  controversies  between  the  governments 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  By  the 
treaty  of  1783,  the  northwestern  boundary  of 
Nova  Scotia  (then  including  New  Brunswick) 
was  to  be  "formed  by  a  line  drawn  due  north 
from  the  source  of  the  St.  Croix  to  the  higlilands 
which  divide  those  rivers  that  empty  themselves 
into  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  from  those  which  fall 
into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  to  the  northwestern- 
most  head  of  the  Connecticut  River."  Unfortu- 
nately no  such  division  line  could  possibly  be 
drawn.     The  Penobscot,  Kennebec,  and  Andros- 


.     VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.   165 

coggin  I'lvers,  falling  into  the  Atlantic,  were 
separated  by  the  highlands  referred  to  in  the 
treaty,  not  from  any  rivers  falling  into  the  St. 
Lawrence,  but  from  the  St.  John  and  its  tributa- 
ries, emptying  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Disputes 
arose,  attended  with  much  ill-feelini'  and  under 
Jay's  treaty,  in  1794,  a  commission  was  appointed 
to  establish  the  line.  The  commissioners  sur- 
veyed a  boundary  which  ran  due  north  from 
Monument  Brook,  the  source  of  the  St.  Croix; 
but  at  Mars  Hill,  on  the  Presque  Isle  stream,  the 
old  trouble  arose  between  them,  the  Americans 
insisting  that  the  north  line  should  extend  to  the 
river  Metis  in  Quebec,  the  English  declaring 
that  Mars  Hill  was  the  true  northwestern  angle 
of  Nova  Scutia.  Work  was  abandoned.  By  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent,  the  king  of  the  Netherlands 
was  chosen  to  arbitrate ;  whereupon  his  Majesty 
mastered  the  geography  of  the  Chiputneticook, 
Apmoojenagamook,  and  Woolastookpectawaago- 
mic  as  only  such  an  august  personage  could,  and 
prescribed  a  boundary  line  which  extended  due 
north  from  the  St.  Croix  to  the  St.  John  river, 
followed  the  "thalweg,"  or  deepest  channel,  to 
the  St.  Francis,  and  thence  pi  oeeeded  by  various 
courses  to  the  northwestern  source  of  the  Connect- 
icut. The  American  government  refused  to  ac- 
cept the  award,  and  the  matter  became  once  more 
a  fruitful  source  of  strife.  In  1839  new  commis- 
sioners  were   appointed  (Mr.   Featherstonhaugh 


166  THE  ST.  JOHN  lilVER. 

and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mudge  of  the  Eoyal  En- 
gineers), but  the  time  allowed  was  insufficient  for 
a  satisfactory  survey,  and  the  commissioners'  re- 
port was  rejected ;  finally  the  Americans  crossed 
the  watershed,  erected  Fort  Fairfield  on  the  Aroos- 
took, and  a  block-house  at  Fish  liiver,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  colonize  the  country.  An  agent  sent  to 
Madawaska  by  the  government  of  Maine  was 
seized  by  the  British  officials  and  incarcerated  at 
Fredericton.  He  had  distributed  some  money 
among  the  j)eople,  the  Americans  calling  it  "  sur- 
plus money  of  the  United  States  ;  "  the  English, 
"  a  bribe  to  induce  the  natives  to  break  their  al- 
legiance to  the  crown."  The  Federal  government, 
anxious  for  peace,  offered  Maine  1,000,000  acres 
of  land  in  Michigan  as  a  compensation  for  the 
disputed  territory.  Maine  refused  to  accept  this 
quid  'pro  quo^  but  issued  a  proclamation  declaring 
that  the  country  had  been  invaded  by  a  foreign 
foe,  and  ordering  the  militia  to  hold  themselves  in 
readiness  for  active  service.  The  Provincial  gov- 
ernment issued  a  similar  proclamation.  In  1842 
the  two  nations  were  on  the  very  verge  of  war, 
and  Lord  Ashburton  was  dispatched  to  America, 
that  it  might  be  forever  determined  whether 
Maine  was  in  New  Brunswick,  or  New  Brunswick 
in  Maine.  On  this  occasion  the  American  gov- 
ernment was  represented  by  Daniel  Webster,  who 
remained  in  office  expressly  for  that  purpose,  and 
the  boundary  agreed  upon  ran  due  north  from  the 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.   167 

source  of  the  St.  Croix,  passed  near  Mars  Hill, 
touched  the  St.  John  River  three  miles  above 
Grand  Falls,  followed  the  thread  of  the  stream  to 
St.  Francis,  ascended  the  St.  Francis  to  Boundary 
Lake,  and  thence  ran  southwesterly  across  the 
two  Black  rivers  and  Lac  de  I'Est  to  the  south- 
west branch  of  the  St.  John,  which  stream  it  fol- 
lowed for  thirty-two  miles.  This  line  forms  the 
international  boundary  of  to-day,  and  varies  but 
little  from  that  laid  down  by  William,  king  of  the 
the  Netherlands.  The  ''  disputed  territory  "  con- 
tains 12,027  square  miles.  By  the  Ashburton 
Treaty  the  United  States  obtained  7,015  square 
miles,  England  5,012 ;  by  the  king's  line,  Eng- 
land would  have  obtained  4,119  miles,  the  United 
States  7,908. 

IN    CONCLUSION. 

The  principal  subjects  of  discussion  relating  to 
the  geography  of  the  St.  John  have  now  been 
briefly  treated,  and  the  writer  regrets  that  the  de- 
sign and  scope  of  the  present  work  prevent  a  more 
minute  description  of  the  various  interesting  re- 
gions composing  that  river  system.  A  book  might 
be  written  about  the  Tobique  or  the  Madawaska 
river  aljne,  that  would,  without  digressing  from 
such  matters  as  are  interesting  to  canoeist  and 
sportsman,  contain  much  more  material  than  this. 
The  extent  of  the  country  drained  by  the  St.  John 
has  been  estimated  at  twenty-six  thousand  square 


168  THE  ST.  JOHN  BIVER. 

miles,  an  area  much  larger  than  that  of  the 
Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  including  certain 
portions  of  Dorchester,  Bellechase,  Montmagny, 
L  'Islet,  Kamouraska,  Temiscouata,  and  Eimouski 
counties  in  the  Province  of  Quebec ;  Aroostook, 
Somerset,  Piscataquis,  and  Penobscot  counties  in 
the  State  of  Maine  ;  and  every  county  in  New 
Brunswick  except  Gloucester ;  but  while  it  is  true 
that  the  river,  or  some  tributary,  drains  a  portion 
of  each  of  these  counties,  it  is  equally  true  that 
no  one  county  is  wholly  drained  by  it. 

The  two  greatest  game  preserves  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  are  the  wilderness  tracts  lying 
to  the  eastward  and  westward  of  the  middle  St. 
John.  These  tracts  are  of  nearly  equal  area. 
One  is  bounded  southerly  by  the  line  of  the  Ca- 
nadian Pacific  Railway  (in  Maine),  westerly  and 
northerly  by  the  French  settlements  in  Quebec, 
and  easterly  by  settlements  bordering  the  valley 
of  the  St.  John ;  the  other  is  bounded  westerly  by 
the  settlements  of  the  St.  John,  southerly  by  the 
line  of  the  Northern  and  Western  Railway,  and 
northerly  and  easterly  by  the  valley  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  Intercolonial  Railway.  Both 
tracts  are  covered  with  a  luxuriant  forest  growth, 
traversed  by  innumerable  rivers  and  brooks,  and 
dotted  with  lakes  of  all  sizes.  In  the  Maine 
woods  the  watercourses  are  more  readily  naviga- 
ble than  they  are  in  central  New  Brunswick ; 
but  New  Brunswick  has  a  decided  advantage  in 


VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE  ST.  JOHN.    169 

natural  scenery  and  in  the  superior  excellence  of 
its  trout  and  salmon  streams. 

The  St.  John  is  greatest  among  the  many  wa- 
tercourses by  which  the  product  of  the  eastern 
forest  is  transported  to  the  coast ;  and  as  a  stately 
tree  expands  to  form  branches,  twigs,  and  leaves, 
so  does  this  noble  river  ramify ;  permeating  the 
wilderness  in  all  directions  with  its  many  afflu- 
ents, its  lakes  and  rivulets. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SETTLEMENT  OF  THE    RIVER  VALLEY.i 

There  are  few  places  of  the  same  extent  in 
North  America  which  possess  a  history  so  varied 
as  that  of  the  valley  of  the  St.  John.  Aside 
from  its  purely  local  annals  and  associations, 
already  rich  for  so  new  a  country,  it  offers  not 
a  little  of  more  general  interest. 

The  history  of  its  colonization  presents  a  curi- 
ous parallel  to  the  varied  movements  which  have 
colonized  North  America  as  a  whole.  In  the  case 
of  both  continent  and  valley,  the  population  has 
been  acquired  in  a  series  of  waves.  First  of  all, 
the  St.  John  possesses  a  tribe  of  Indians,  once 
owners  throughout  it  all,  but  now  forced  to  a  few 
grudgingly  granted  plots,  and  viewed  as  aliens,  if 
not  as  inferior  beings.  It  has,  secondly,  an  old 
and  very  purely  foreign  element  in  the  Acadian 
French,  these  likewise  now  crowded  to  a  corner 
of  the  goodly  extent  over  whi^^h  they  were  once 
recognized  as  rulers.  Thirdly,  it  has  a  pre-Kevo- 
lutionary  New  England  settlement,  a  product  of 

1  These  notes  upon  the  settlement  of  the  valley  of  the  St. 
John  have  been  furnished  upon  our  request  by  a  local  histo- 
rian. 


SETTLEMEXT  OF  THE  RIVER  VALLEY,    171 

the  same  adventuring;'  spirit  which  sent  their  kin- 
dred colonizing  to  the  westward.  To  these  follow  a 
few  Englishmen  direct  from  the  home  land.  N(»xt 
come  the  Loyalists,  a  great  nund)er,  New  Bruns- 
wick's priceless  accession,  her  Pilgrim  Fathers, 
her  real  foundation.  Their  coming  was  one  re- 
sult of  the  Revolution,  which  thus  so  completely 
changed  the  course  of  events  for  New  Brunswick 
as  well  as  for  the  continent.  Finally,  the  \.^lley 
contains  settlements  of  the  best  classes  of  later 
European  immigrants,  —  English,  Irish,  Scotch, 
Danish,  and  others,  who  have  come  to  the  Prov- 
ince as  their  kindred  have  come  to  the  States  in 
the  present  century. 

The  Indians  of  the  valley  form  the  Maliseet 
tribe,  of  Algonquin  stock.  They  are  closely  akin 
to  the  Passamaquoddies  and  Penobscots  to  the 
west,  and  distantly  related  to  the  Micmacs  of  the 
north  and  east.  They  are  much  mixed  with  white 
blood,  but  are  upon  the  whole  superioi'  to  the  ma- 
jority of  the  Indian  tribes.  They  possess  a  fair 
physique,  and  are  generally  honest  and  peaceable. 
They  live  by  hunting,  acting  as  guides  and  supple- 
mentary woods  trades,  but  make  very  poor  farm- 
ers and  laborers.  At  present  they  are  increas- 
ing slowly  in  numbers,  a  fact  which  their  dilution 
with  white  blood  goes  far  to  explain.  They  were 
friendly  to  the  first  explorers,  and,  except  for 
minor  local  hostilities,  generally  stirred  up  by 
one  white  race  against  another,  they  have  been  so 


172         .  THE  ST.  JOHN  niVElt. 

to  the  white  inliahitaiits  of  the  valley  ever  since. 
Their  most  conspicuous  appearance  in  history  has 
bee^i  in  connection  with  their  raids,  in  alliance 
witii  aiul  under  command  of  the  French,  upon  the 
New  England  settlements.  They  have  played 
but  a  small  i)art  in  the  history  of  the  valley,  and 
have  produced  practically  no  effect  at  all  upon 
the  formation  of  the  New  Brunswick  people. 
The  principal  Maliseet  villages  are  upon  reserva- 
tions (1)  at  Apohoqui,  (2)  opposite  Fredericton, 
(3)  at  French  Village,  a  few  miles  above  Fred- 
ericton, (4)  at  Woodstock,  (5)  at  Tobique,  (G)  at 
Madawaska,  with  smaller  and  more  or  less  tem- 
porary encampments  near  St.  John,  at  Gagetown 
and  other  places. 

Before  the  coming  of  Europeans,  there  is  reason 
to  believe,  these  Maliseets  occupied  the  river  only 
from  Fredericton  upwards,  the  lower  part  to  the 
mouth  being  in  the  hands  of  the  Micmacs.  Their 
principal  settlements  were  upon  sites  now  aban- 
doned, at  Meductic,  a  few  miles  above  Eel  River ; 
and  at  Auk-pahk,  now  Spring  Hill,  five  miles 
above  Fredericton.  Their  place-names  along  the 
river  have  happily  largely  persisted,  the  names  of 
nearly  every  one  of  its  branches  being  of  Indian 
origin. 

The  authentic  history  of  the  valley  begins  with 
its  discovery  by  Samuel  de  Champlain,  on  St. 
John's  Day,  1604.  It  was  partially  explored  by 
one  of  his  lieutenants,  and  more  thoroughly  a  few 


SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  RlVEli  VALLEY.    173 

years  later  l)y  fiHliormen  and  fur-tradors.  About 
1G35,  Charles  de  la  Tour,  under  authority  of  a 
grant  from  the  king  of  France,  built  a  strong 
fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  ui)on  whieli,  and 
the  great  fur-trade  it  controlled,  his  neighbor 
D'Aulnay  Charnisay,  of  Port  lioyal  (now  Anna- 
polis) cast  envious  eyes.  The  various  efforts  of 
these  two  men  for  supremacy  in  Acadia  culmi- 
nated in  1645  in  the  success  of  Charnisay,  wlio 
during  the  absence  of  his  rival  captured  and  d(i- 
stroyed  his  fort.  The  story  of  the  defense  of  this 
fort  is  the  most  picturesque  in  the  hi.story  of  the 
St.  John,  and  a  great  favorilo  with  the  local 
chroniclers. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  century,  large  tracts  of 
land  along  the  river  were  granted  by  the  French 
government  to  various  of  its  favorites  as  seign- 
euries.  The  seigneurs  were,  by  conditions  of  the 
grants,  to  bring  settlers,  clear  land,  make  roads, 
etc.,  but  these  improvements  were  rarely  or  never 
made.  Some  of  the  seigneurs  lived  a  half -savage 
life  with  the  Indians  along  the  river,  but  their 
rights  gradually  lapsed,  and  they  were  in  time 
replaced  by  a  few  French  squatters  from  Port 
Royal  (descendants  of  settlers  brought  earlier  in 
the  century  from  France),  who  settled  at  St.  John 
and  a  few  other  points  along  the  river. 

About  1690,  a  strong  fort  was  built  by  Ville- 
bon,  the  French  governor,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Nashwaak,  opposite  Fredericton.     From  this  fort 


174  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

went  forth  the  expedition  under  Villebon  and 
Villie/i,  which,  with  the  aid  of  the  Indians,  carried 
such  devastation  to  the  New  England  settlements. 
It  was  here  that  no  less  an  ambitious  plan  than 
the  capture  of  Poston  itself  was  debated,  and  some 
attempt  made  to  carry  it  out.  To  avenge  the  mur- 
derous attacks  of  the  Indians  inspired  by  the 
French,  in  1696,  an  expedition  from  New  Eng- 
land attempted  to  capture  Fort  Nashwaak,  but 
was  repulsed  with  loss. 

The  few  settlers  on  the  river  continued  to  in- 
crease very  slowly  in  numbers  until  1755,  in 
which  year  the  British  government  found  it  ne- 
cessary to  remove  the  French  from  Acadia  on 
account  of  their  continued  hostility  to  the  British. 
This  expulsion  presents  us  with  one  of  the  most 
pathetic  incidents  of  any  history,  and  one  which 
has  been  fully  utilized  in  Longfellow's  "Evan- 
geline." The  settlers  on  the  St.  John  were  not 
captured,  but  fled  up  the  river,  and,  joined  by 
other  fugitives,  attempted  to  reestablish  them- 
selves in  various  sheltered  creeks  and  lakes,  and 
at  Gagetown,  Frederiction,  and  other  places.  But 
from  these  they  were  driven,  and  only  secured  a 
friendly  resting-place  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Loyalists.  Passing  far  above  these  new-comers, 
they  settled  b' low  the  mouth  of  the  Madawaska. 
Lands  were  soo^i  after  granted  to  them,  and  since 
that  time  they  have  spread  sparingly  up  the  river, 
but  rapidly  down  on  both  banks,  almost  exclud- 


SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  RIVER  VALLEY.   175 

ing  other  settlers,  to  Grand  Falls.  The  most 
important  event  of  their  subsequent  history  was 
the  transference  of  nearly  half  of  them  to  the 
United  States  by  the  Ashburton  Treaty  in  1842. 
They  are  honest  and  hospitable,  but  clannish  and 
unprogressive,  and  show  many  characteristics  of 
great  interest  to  the  student  of  peoples. 

The  close  of  the  "  French  War,"  in  1759-60, 
was  followed  rather  by  a  spirit  of  restlessness 
than  by  quiet  in  New  England,  and  this  mani- 
fested itself  in  emigration.  Many  thousands  of 
the  New  En  glanders  came  to  Nova  Scotia  in 
1762-64,  and  a  few  hundreds  of  them  to  the  val- 
ley of  the  St.  John.  They  had  their  choice  of  al- 
most the  entire  river,  and  settled  upon  the  rich 
intervales  of  Maugerville,  upon  the  navigable 
part  below  Fredericton.  At  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Revolution  they  showed  sympathy,  very  nat- 
ural under  the  circumstances,  with  their  kinsmen 
in  the  States,  but  this  sympathy  they  very  soon 
transferred  to  the  British  cause,  and  have  since 
been  among  the  most  loyal  of  British  subject?. 
Possessing  the  sterling  qualities  of  the  New  Eng- 
landers,  they  made  good  settlers,  and  have  given 
to  the  Province  some  of  her  best  men.  Their 
descendants  still  live  at  Maugerville,  probably  as 
unmixed  a  pre-Revolutionary  colony  as  exists. 

The  Englishmen  who  came  during  the  next 
twenty  years  were  very  few  in  number,  and  never 
formed  any  settlement,  but  scattered  to  various 


176  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

points.     Their  descendants  are  still  to  be  found 
at  Oromocto  and  others  of  the  older  villages. 

In  1783,  there  came  to  New  Brunswick  many- 
thousands  of  Loyalists.  They  included  those  who, 
either  from  duty,  from  conviction,  for  gain,  or 
various  other  incidental  motives,  took  the  side  of 
the  crown  in  the  Revolution.  At  its  close  many 
of  them,  for  active  participation,  were  officially 
banished  from  the  new  States ;  a  few  were  un- 
willing to  remain  under  the  new  conditions  ;  while 
the  remainder,  a  great  majority,  were  so  obnox- 
ious to  their  successful  nei^yhbors  that  thcv  were 
forced  to  leave  the  coiuitry  to  insure  their  per- 
sonal safety.  To  these  Loyalists  was  granted  the 
site  of  the  city  of  St.  John,  and  as  much  of  the 
main  river  and  its  branches  as  was  necessary  to 
supply  them  all  with  land  for  settlement.  This 
required  the  unoccupied  lands  along  the  main 
river  as  far  up  as  Woodstock,  and  the  accessible 
parts  of  the  Kennebecasis,  Belleisle,  Washade- 
moak,  and  Grand  Lake,  and  in  these  places 
accordingly  are  their  descendants  to  be  found  to 
this  day.  The  Loyalists  included  some  of  the 
ablest  men  of  the  Colonies,  and  their  descendants 
form  the  largest  and  best  part  of  the  population 
of  the  St.  John  valley.  In  the  places,  outside  of 
the  cities,  where  they  settled,  they  have  received 
but  little  addition  from  immigration,  and  conse- 
quently are  very  nearly,  in  some  places  entirely, 
of  the  original  stock.     In  city  and  country  they 


SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  RIVER  VALLEY,    111 

are  advanced  and  progressive,  and  show  generally 
the  best  qualities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

During  the  early  years  of  their  settlement 
there  was  some  restlessness  among  the  Loyalists, 
some  friction  with  the  New  Englanders,  and  these 
together  with  other  minor  causes  sent  settlers 
from  both  parties  to  make  homes  higher  up  the 
river.  Gradually  the  river  banks  above  Wood- 
stock, up  to  Grand  Falls,  were  thus  thinly  colo- 
nized. Early  in  this  century  other  settlers  began 
to  arrive.  A  disbanded  West  India  regiment 
settled  above  the  Tobique ;  Scotch  and  Irish  set- 
tlers were  brought  by  the  New  Brunswick  gov- 
ernment, or  by  immigration  and  land  companies, 
and,  the  river  bank  being  occupied,  were  assigned 
the  lands  back  of  it,  or  tracts  above  the  earlier 
settlers  on  the  various  lower  branches.  These, 
together  with  settlers  from  the  older  settlements, 
extended  gradually  up  the  Tobique  and  other 
upper  branches,  and  passed  above  the  French  on 
the  main  river.  The  people  of  Maine  extended 
into  the  Aroostook  and  Fish  Eiver  valleys ;  and 
so  in  this  century  there  has  been  no  new  wave 
of  immigration,  but  a  slow  growth  by  expansion 
within  and  addition  from  without. 

In  rapid  summary,  then,  the  order  of  inhab- 
itants in  ascending  the  river  is  as  follows:  At 
its  mouth  is  the  Loyalist  city,  St.  John.  Then, 
upon  all  of  the  lower  river  and  its  great  branches, 
as  far  as  Maugerville,  are  settled  the  descendants 


178  THE  ST.  JOHN  RIVER. 

of  the  Loyalists,  commingled  with  a  few  New 
Englanders  and  Englishmen  and  some  later  im- 
migrants, and  a  few  Indians  at  Apohoqui.  At 
Maugerville  are  the  New  Englanders,  above  which 
occur  Loyalists  again  to  Fredericton,  itself  an- 
other city  of  this  people.  Hence  to  Woodstock, 
excepting  a  few  Indians  at  each  place  and  at 
French  Village,  the  people  are  still  principally 
Loyalist.  Beyond  Woodstock,  excepting  the 
Indians  at  Tobique,  they  are  commingled  New 
England,  Loyalist,  and  later  immigrants,  the  lat- 
ter especially  back  from  the  river,  as  far  as 
Grand  Falls.  Thence  upwards,  as  far  as  Mada- 
waska,  the  French  occur  almost  exclusively ;  but 
beyond  Madawaska  they  become  fewer,  and  are 
replaced  by  settlers  of  various  origin  to  the  St. 
Francis,  above  which  they  almost  cease.  At 
Seven  Islands  the  last  isolated  family  is  passed, 
and  the  river  remains  a  wilderness  to  its  extreme 
source.  * 


■Jlirltrt  t/u  Lm^  H/KftnAtti 


n  Xmowum   lr^t^'■^Jk^tL 


-V-'n^'- 


^l»*S'J»mn 


M 


CjlMO£MANt   Ma^ 


Tm£  WP£n  JStn  ifbMN 


£ckA  --»  Thn   AitU*  im  an  /'mA. 


TV-oa  A>fl>/ai  **.rWi-M«a/ 


\  .^ 


MklVft/itW 


XlMaiitM     kn>f»rjA«W 


./ 


k*^..,5..,j-  ASi„.j/.,^ 


/irmikiiiXmrC*.St^ s\fi^f„  {yjtkVH i¥-M.€t:. mm- 


\\ 


